


Winter and Storm

by OneMoreNight1996



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: AU Post 8x03, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arya Stark & Sansa Stark Have a Good Relationship, Daenerys Targaryen Is Not a Mad Queen, F/M, Friendship, Light Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:21:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 68,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23450878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneMoreNight1996/pseuds/OneMoreNight1996
Summary: The seed is strong. The phrase had been uttered many a time in reference to the Baratheon bloodline but she hadn't thought about it after the night they'd shared. She'd thought they were all going to die and when they didn't, she'd been so caught up in elation that the thought had never crossed her mind, and now she had only one thought in her mind. Fucking Baratheons.OrWhen you add Bartheon and Tully fertility together, there's bound to be an issue. Catelyn had five kids and Robert had enough for a small army for fucks sake. The story also has some different decisions made in terms of other characters because I'm sure we all agree that the last three episodes were a shit show of stupid choices made by the characters.
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen, Podrick Payne/Sansa Stark
Comments: 203
Kudos: 962





	1. Chapter 1

It was only a week after the Battle of Winterfell that they found themselves in the war room once again going over battle plans and Arya thought they were all being really stupid at the moment. She cleared her throat, gaining the attention of everyone in the room in an instant.

"You don't agree with the plan Lady Arya?" Queen Daenerys asked and Arya struggled not to roll her eyes at the title. 

"Not particularly." She said and Daenerys raised an eyebrow.

"Why is that?" She asked and Arya pointed to the map.

"Your plan is that Jon leads the Northern army down the King's Road while you and the Unsullied and Dothraki sail back to Dragonstone, but I don't think that's a good idea." She told them.

"Why not?" Daenerys asked and it seemed like she was actually taking in Arya's words so she felt confident to continue.

"Cersei still has Euron Greyjoy's fleet. She'll likely expect you to sail back to Dragonstone because it would be the faster way to get south so I have no doubt she has them stationed for an attack there." Arya said. "We don't have the navel power to rival theirs on hand. Theon said that Yara went to take back the Iron Islands while Euron was occupied so I suggest you send her a raven and request she sail back toward King's Landing to take on Euron's fleet while you take the King's Road alongside Jon. It will take longer to get there but will give us a better chance at succeeding."

Everyone seemed to stare at her for a long moment as if they didn't expect her to actually make sense but eventually Daenerys went back to staring at the map and the pieces on the board before she nodded.

"That does make sense." She said, her voice pondering before she turned to Tyrion. "Do as she said, send a raven to Yara Greyjoy. We'll need her back up in the war to come." She looked back at Arya. "Anymore suggestions?"

"I know the dragons are the greatest weapon we posses but we should keep them far back from the fighting if we lay siege to King's Landing." She said. "I've heard about the weapons that she developed against them. She'll know that the greatest threat will be the dragons so she'll try to take them out first, she'll have the weapons somewhere that can be used against them if they get to close. We shouldn't use them until it is absolutely necessary."

"Okay. We'll keep them with us but make sure they're far enough away that she can't get to them." Daenerys said. "We'll march south together."

Everyone in the room nodded and people began moving after the obvious dismissal in her voice, off to finish up the tasks that needed completed before the march south which would begin within the next couple of days. Arya had meant to already be headed south but had been stopped by a feeling she couldn't shake. She'd fought so hard to get back to her family that leaving them so soon after they'd all been brought back together made her hesitant. She still had her list to complete, with Cersei's name still being on it, but she couldn't make herself leave just yet. The voice of Queen Daenerys stopped her as she made for the door.

"Lady Arya, Lady Sansa, would you two remain for a moment. I wish to speak to you." She asked. Sansa glanced at Arya before they both turned to face the queen once more and Arya noticed Jon by her side immediately. She had a feeling she knew what this was about already but she moved to stand in front of them anyway with Sansa following suit. Daenerys looked at both of them with a serious expression on her face as the door closed firmly. "You've both been informed of Jon's parentage I assume."

She spoke the words like a statement rather than a question. Arya glanced at Jon for only a moment before she nodded.

"Yes, your grace." She said.

"You must understand what it means." Daenerys said.

"It means that Jon has a claim on the Iron Throne." Sansa said. "A stronger one than you."

"I don't want it." Jon said immediately. "I've asked the two of you not to say anything and you swore to me that you wouldn't."

"We've kept our vow." Arya said seriously. "What's this about?"

"To everyone besides your family and Samwell Tarly, Jon is the bastard son of Lord Eddard Stark." Deanerys began. "Jon has told me he made Lord Tarly swear an oath of secrecy about it just as he has asked you to swear. He doesn't want the throne and has sworn to bend the knee to me again once I have taken it. He doesn't want the Targaryen name, but there is something else I could give him should you permit it."

"What?" Sansa asked.

"Daenerys has said she'd legitimize me as Jon Stark." Jon said, looking at the two of them seriously. "I know now that Eddard Stark was not my father but he is the man who raised me. All my life I wanted to be called a Stark, that name means more to me than blood. If you'll permit I would wish to take it and have my true parentage kept a secret."

"You want us to never speak of it?" Sansa asked. "Not even with each other?"

"Anyone could overhear if you said anything about it, even amongst yourselves." Jon said. "Father kept the secret for seventeen years, he took it to the grave with him, surely you can do the same if I ask."

"I know you do not like me Lady Sansa, and you do not trust me, but I swear to you that I mean no harm to you or your people." Daenerys said and Arya could see Sansa's eyes narrow slightly. "I know that the northerners have different concerns and issue facing them that many southern rulers have ignored and that is why you do not wish for them to follow a southern rule again but I promise you that I will do everything in my power to rectify that. I have every intention to have your brother be a part of my council to represent the northern concerns when I am queen. If you'll accept me as your queen, I will prove to you that I will be a fair and just ruler."

Arya watched as Sansa seemed to consider the queen's words, her eyes trailing from Jon to Daenerys to Arya before she blew out a breath. Arya knew that Sansa didn't like Daenerys and didn't trust her but she also knew that Sansa didn't trust many people. Arya didn't trust Daenerys either but it wasn't because of something the woman had done but simply because she didn't know her and hadn't had time to evaluate her just yet. She suspected that for Sansa, the mistrust had a lot to do with her name rather than who she was but she figured that her sister would eventually get over it.

"Alright." Sansa said finally. Daenerys nodded.

"So, you both permit me to legitimize him?" She asked.

"You'll always be our brother Jon, nothing is going to change that." Arya said seriously.

"I agree." Sansa said next to her. "I swear I will not speak a word of your true parentage to anyone, as long as I shall live."

"Neither will I." Arya said. Jon smiled at both of them and pulled them in close for a hug. When Arya pulled back she raised an eyebrow at him. "Shouldn't Bran have been involved in this discussion?"

"I already spoke to him about it." Jon said. "He said the choice was mine to make."

"I will announce his legitimization along with the other one I had planned at the feast tonight." Daenerys said definitively. "Before we march south."

"The other one?" Sansa asked.

"The smith. Gendry, I believe his name is." Daenerys said and Arya found herself thankful for her training that she did not react to his name being spoken by the queen. "I've been told by Lord Tyrion that he is Robert Baratheon's bastard son."

"Why would you legitimize him?" Sansa asked. "Many people might believe he has a right to the throne. His father was a King."

"His father was a usurper." Daenerys corrected. "He toppled my family and took something that did not belong to him in the first place but, children are not their fathers and Storm's End is in need of a Lord. Besides, he is one of the few people left in the world who shares my blood even if it is distant. His great grandmother was a Targaryen after all, we're family."

"You're just going to hand him Storm's End?" Arya asked, keeping her voice even so as to not reveal any emotion. "That's a lot of power to bestow upon someone without warning. Whoever holds Storm's End is not just a Lord after all, they're the Lord Paramount of the Stormlands and Warden of the East, they're in charge of all the other lords and ladies in the region. He was born a bastard, and a lowborn one at that, perhaps you should speak with him about it before you announce his legitimization. He may not even want it."

"Most people would not turn down power when it is offered to them." Daenerys said.

"Gendry isn't most people." She said immediately and wanted to curse herself. She hadn't wanted to show any emotion toward him either way in the company of others, particularly her brother who tended to overreact or the queen who could very well just kill him for taking liberties with a lady of a great house even if she'd been the one to pursue it, but here she was.

"You know him?" Jon asked before Daenerys had a chance to speak and Arya could see the curiosity on all three of their faces as they looked at her.

"We've met." She said, trying to regain control of the conversation but the raise of her sister's eyebrow told her she wouldn't get out of it that easily.

"When?" Jon asked.

"He made a weapon for me. For the battle." She said grasping onto what she could to throw them off even though she knew it wasn't likely.

"The way you just spoke of him speaks to a more substantial connection than having a weapon made." Sansa said, her voice disbelieving as Jon and Deanerys both looked at her with unconvinced expressions. Arya sighed.

"Fine." She held her hands up knowing that she wasn't going to get out of this room until she told them what they wanted to know. "Gendry and I met years ago, the day father was executed."

"How?" Sansa asked. 

"He had been sold to the Night's Watch by his master, I think he'd heard something from someone and was trying to get him out of the city because it was right before Robert's other bastards were killed, and I'd been taken by Yoren. He cut my hair and made me pretend to be a boy named Arry to get me out of the city. He was going to take me to Winterfell on the way to the wall." Arya told them. "Gendry and I met that day and we became friends as we marched north. He knew I was a girl even though the rest of them didn't, he even knew my name because I told him."

"Why?" Jon asked. "It would have been safer if you hadn't."

"I trusted him. I still do." She said honestly. "The gold cloaks came for him, but Yoren wouldn't let them take him, and I thought that if the queen wanted him too then he couldn't turn me in without risking himself. We made it to the Riverlands before we were attacked by Lannister men, Yoren was killed and the rest of us were taken to Harrenhal. We eventually escaped and were free for a little while before we were found by the brotherhood. They wanted to ransom me back to Robb and I asked Gendry to come with me to Winterfell, we'd become very close, but he refused. He said that he'd served men his whole life and they'd all treated him like shit so he was done serving. He was going to join the brotherhood, but they sold him to the Red Woman and we got separated. I hadn't seen him again until he came to Winterfell with you."

She gave them enough information for them to feel like they'd gotten the story but kept most of it to herself. She saw all three of them processing the information, varying expression of calculation on their faces, before Jon suddenly seemed to shake himself and his eyes came to meet hers.

"He never mentioned your name." He said. "He went beyond the wall with me, we traveled together for weeks, but he never mentioned you. He knew I was your brother. Hell, Beric and Thoros never mentioned you either."

"You'd have to ask him about that." She said with a shrug. Jon pursed his lips as he stared at her.

"You said the two of you became very close when you were traveling together." He said and she nodded. He narrowed his eyes. "He never...."

"No, Jon." She rolled her eyes. "We were children, we weren't even thinking about that. We were just trying to survive. Even if we had thought about it, it wasn't like we had the opportunity for it anyway, we were constantly in danger."

"Still, I should talk to him about it." He muttered.

"Nothing happened between us back then Jon." She said firmly. "Gendry is a good man, I know you know that. He's your friend."

"I will talk to him about the legitimization before going through with it." Daenerys said in an obvious attempt to get the conversation back on track as her eyes flitted between them. 

"I'll come with you." Jon said and Arya rolled her eyes again.

"Try to keep him from doing something stupid." She said to Daenerys, ignoring the look Jon gave her completely.

"Of course Lady Arya." She said, nodding at her and Sansa before leaving the room with Jon trailing behind her. Sansa turned to her as the door closed once more.

"What?" She asked and Sansa shook her head.

"I should have suspected about you and the smith." She said. "You did spend an inordinate amount of time lurking in and around the smithy before the battle but I was so preoccupied with preparations that I didn't really think about it at the time."

It took everything in Arya not to blush at that and she cursed the feelings in her mind. The longer she was around her family, the harder it was to maintain the cool facade she'd cultivated over the years. They just kept chipping away at that cold exterior and her emotions began slowly creeping back in through the cracks they'd created.

"He was making me a weapon." She protested and Sansa raised an eyebrow.

"And you felt the need to oversee the entire process?" She asked, a light smirk crossing her face. "Admiring the work it took?"

"I don't know what you're implying Sansa." Arya said, determined not to let her win.

"He's quite handsome, I'll admit." Sansa said, moving toward the door. She flitted out before Arya could say anything and she blew out a long breath. She and Sansa had been getting closer ever since she'd come back but at times like this, she wished her sister was less inclined to tease her because now all Arya could do was silently agree. He was handsome and if she wasn't avoiding him at the moment, she might even go to the smithy to admire the work some more, as her sister said.


	2. Chapter 2

Gendry turned to the door of the smithy when he heard his name being called but when he saw the Dragon Queen and Jon standing there he immediately wished to be anywhere else. The queen had never spoken a word to him before so her being here now put him on edge and with the addition of Jon, he had a bad feeling that they knew about him and Arya and he was about to be dragged out and executed for laying his hands on a lady. Neither of them looked angry but he didn't trust it at all. He took a deep breath before moving over to stand in front of them, bowing to the queen quickly.

"Do you require me to do something for you, your grace?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the ground. 

"I wished to speak to you." She said. 

"About?" He asked.

"I know who your father was." She said, causing his eyes to snap up immediately. He glanced at Jon, his mind racing as he wondered if the man had told her. "Your father killed my brother and stole the throne from my family."

"I know." He said cautiously. Maybe this wasn't about Arya at all and he was about to be executed for an entirely different reason. "But, I didn't know he was my father until after he was dead, your grace. I have no desire to sit on the throne, you don't have to be worried about me."

"I know that." She said, giving him a reassuring smile. "That's not what I've come to discuss with you."

"Oh?" He asked.

"I'm planning to legitimize Jon tonight at the feast and I wanted to extend the same honor to you." She said and he stared at her with wide eyes. "I would name you as Lord Gendry Baratheon if you wished for me to. This title comes with certain responsibilities, you must understand, you would become Lord of Storm's End as that is the seat of Baratheon power and has been for hundreds of years but that title comes along with others. The Lord who holds Storm's End is also the Lord Paramount of the Stormlands and Warden of the East. It is a lot of responsibility and I wanted to make sure that it is something you could handle, something you'd want, before I went through with it."

"What's the catch?" He asked seriously. "In my experience no one just hands you things for free, especially not highborns."

"The only catch, as you say, is that I will expect you to renounce any claim on the throne and bend the knee to me when I take it." She said seriously. "If you don't wish to accept it then I can find someone else to take Storm's End but it's come to my attention that you are the last person alive who shares Baratheon blood. So many great houses have been wiped out by the wars and fighting of the last few years and I do not wish to see it happen to any more but it _is_ your choice."

"Why are you asking me?" He asked, his eyes studying her face. "Most highborns would just do as they wished without thinking of what other people want. You could legitimize me anyway and I'd have to accept it whether I wanted it or not."

"I'll admit, I was going to legitimize you anyway but Lady Arya suggested I speak with you first instead of thrusting it on you." She said, a small smile gracing her lips. "She said I should give you the choice because you might not want it. She seems fond of you."

Gendry cursed the flush that came to his cheeks at her words because he could see the sparkle of amusement in her eyes at the reaction. Jon, on the other hand, was staring at him with pursed lips and it made Gendry want to avoid the man for the foreseeable future. He drew his eyes away from the man and back to the queen.

"I'm a lowborn bastard, your grace." He said quietly. "I don't know how to be a lord. I suspect I'd fuck it up."

"You would have advisers." She said. "They could help you until you learned how to rule."

"Would these be advisers of my choosing or yours?" He asked and she raised an eyebrow.

"I could help pick advisers that I think would be good and who could assist you adequately." She said. "But, if you have people in mind already then you're welcome to appoint them."

"Ser Davos." He said immediately. "He advised Stannis Baratheon and he saved my life once. I know that he's been advising Jon for some time but if he would, I'd like for him to help me." 

"Does this mean that you are going to accept the legitimization and the position that comes with it?" She asked. 

"Yes." He answered. "I'll accept it."

"Very good. I'll speak to Ser Davos myself about advising you." She inclined her head before she turned to look at Jon. "I told your sister that you wouldn't do anything stupid. Do not make me a liar, Jon Snow."

"I won't." He said and they seemed to have a silent conversation with just their eyes before she nodded and turned to leave, leaving Jon and Gendry alone in the smithy. Gendry moved away from him, fiddling with his smith's hammer to avoid looking at the other man, even as he waited for him to speak.

He was almost certain at this point that Jon didn't know about what him and Arya had done before the battle because he hadn't run him through with his sword yet but the queen's words about Arya being the one to convince her to talk to him first let him know that Jon at least knew something about their connection. He wasn't sure if the other man was angry about the fact that Gendry hadn't mentioned her or not but he figured the farther away he was from Jon the better for his health at the moment.

"You didn't mention that you knew my sister." Jon spoke and Gendry sighed. "You had plenty of opportunity to tell me while we were beyond the wall together but you never even spoke her name. Why?"

"I wasn't deliberately trying to hide anything from you Jon, it just hurt too much to even think about her that I couldn't say anything." He admitted, still not looking at the other man.

"It hurt too much?" Jon asked and Gendry could hear the genuine confusion in his voice. "Why?"

"We were young when we met so going through the things we did together formed a bond between us." He said. "I felt like I had to protect her, which is stupid, she could take care of herself even back then, but I failed." 

"What do you mean?" Jon asked, coming closer until he was standing beside Gendry and he was forced to look at him.

"I was young, angry and stupid, so I pushed her away." He explained. "She asked me to come with her to Winterfell, said I could smith for her brother, but I said no. She was my best friend but even then, I knew we were never even in the same class. She was a lady, no matter how much she denied it, and I was a lowborn bastard. There was no way we'd be able to continue our friendship once we reached her brother and I knew that, so I refused."

"Okay." Jon said, his voice calculating as he nodded. "I still don't get why it would hurt to mention her. You fucked up, but you were just kids. I'm sure she understood that, eventually I mean."

"It wasn't that that made it hard to even think about her." Gendry shook his head. "It was what came after."

"Which was...?" Jon asked.

"The Brotherhood sold me to the Red Witch. She wanted my blood for some ritual, told me there was power in King's blood. That's how I found out who my father was. When they sold me, I was separated from Arya. I never even got to apologize to her for being a dick. They were going to burn me at the stake to complete the ritual but Davos saved me and put me in a rowboat. He told me to go back to King's Landing, they all thought Robert's bastards were dead so no one would be looking for me there." He explained, turning to lean against the anvil as he spoke. He could see Jon studying him but he ignored it as he continued his story. "When I eventually made it back to shore, all anyone was talking about was the Red Wedding and I knew that the Brotherhood had been planning to ransom Arya back to Robb Stark."

"You thought she was there." Jon said, understanding and sorrow in his voice.

"There was a rumor going around that she'd been seen at the wedding." Gendry said, looking down at his hands. "I thought she was dead and I blamed myself. When I found out what happened at that wedding, I hated myself for not being there. I thought that if I'd gone with her when she asked, maybe I could have done something, maybe I could have saved her. That's why I didn't mention her, because thinking of her and how I failed her, it hurt and I couldn't handle it. I couldn't look at you and speak her name knowing it was my fault that she died. When Davos came to get me from King's Landing and mentioned your name, I came, and I told myself that no matter what you wanted, I would do it."

"Why?" Jon asked. "You didn't even know me."

"I knew who you were though." Gendry said, glancing at him for a moment before his eyes fell back to his hands. "She talked about you all the time. You were her favorite brother and she didn't care that you were a bastard. It never mattered to her, just like it never mattered to her that I was lowborn. I was wholly surprised when we came to Winterfell and she was here, alive and healthy. I thought for a moment I was dreaming when I saw her."

"You care for her." Jon said, and Gendry realized that his voice had sounded wistful and longing. His eyes rose to meet Jon's but the other man didn't seem angry about his observation but rather, just surprised.

"I do." He answered truthfully. "She's like family, even now after all these years."

"She's changed since she was a child." Jon said, his voice cautious and Gendry shrugged.

"We've all changed, haven't we?" He said. "The wars haven't been kind to any of us. We've all done things to survive that we never thought we would."

"Do you love her?" Jon asked, a serious expression on her face. Gendry studied him for a moment.

"I'm not sure how you want me to answer that question." He said. 

"I'd prefer the truth." Jon said. Gendry blew out a breath.

"Yes." He said honestly. "I think a small part of me always did, even when we were kids, but I didn't know what to do with it back then."

"And you do now?" Jon asked.

"Maybe." Gendry shrugged. "I love her but I'm not sure it matters."

"What do you mean?" Jon asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"She'll never marry me." He said quietly. "You know as well as I do that Arya never wanted to marry. She never wanted to be a lady and that's even more true now."

"You want to marry her?" Jon asked, both eyebrows raised now, an expression of surprise on his face.

"Of course I do, but as I said, she'd never agree to it." Gendry said with a shrug. "And even if, by some miracle, she did, we're about to march out for another war. I don't think it's the best time to be getting married anyway."

"Perhaps you're right." Jon said quietly before meeting his eyes with a serious expression. "But you should tell her you love her, at least. As you said, we're going to war, and there's a very real chance we could die. You should say it while you have the chance, just in case."

He knew Jon had a point and if Arya wasn't currently avoiding him, he would tell her, but he knew she'd be marching out with them and it would be much harder for her to avoid him then so he'd get the opportunity eventually. 

"You're not going to threaten me then?" Gendry asked, his voice teasing as he tried to lighten the mood. "Isn't that your duty as her older brother?"

"I don't think it's necessary." Jon said, rolling his eyes. "She'd probably kill you herself before I even had a chance if you did something she didn't like."

"Probably." Gendry said, his voice hopelessly fond.

Jon laughed and clapped him on the shoulder before leaving the smithy entirely. Gendry found himself grateful that Jon didn't know about what had happened because he seemed to be okay with their relationship but Gendry knew that if he did know they'd lain together, he wouldn't be so ready to embrace the whole thing. He resolved to never let him find out about it as he liked his head where it was, firmly attached to his shoulders.

* * *

He spent the rest of the day completing his work in the smithy, mending broken weapons and armor, before he cleaned up and made his way into the great hall for supper. The room was already filled with people when he arrived and he took a seat quickly. Arya was seated with her family at the high table along with the queen and their various advisers sat close at the tables situated to each side of the high table. The food was already on the table along with flagons of ale and sweet wine, which he treated himself to immediately, having worked up quite the appetite in the smithy.

The conversation flowed through the room, a dull buzz in his ears, as he ate his food. He found himself once again sitting across from the Hound but they were both content to eat their food without conversation so he didn't take much notice of the other man besides his occasional grunts when someone tried to speak to him. Gendry was more polite when someone addressed him directly but he knew that he too gave off the energy of not wanting to be bothered. It was easier than trying to make conversation with various lords whose names he couldn't remember.

It was when they'd been in the room for over an hour that the queen rose from her seat, causing silence to fall over the room almost immediately, and Gendry knew she was about to announce the legitimization for him and Jon. His eyes bounced to Arya for a moment and found that her eyes were already on him and their gazes locked. She raised an eyebrow at him, just as she did before she'd kissed him on the night they'd lain together, and his mind went blank for a moment as the images flashed before him. He jerked his eyes away from her immediately when the queen started speaking as it wouldn't do him any good to be distracted right now.

"As many of you here know, Jon Snow has been a true and loyal ally to me." She began. "His father was an honorable man and he has passed that down to his children. They are all good and honorable people and they wished to have their brother share their name. As such, I have decided to grant this wish. He will be known as Lord Jon Stark, lawful son of Lord Eddard Stark, now and forever."

"To Lord Jon Stark!" One of the northern lords exclaimed, Gendry thought he might be a Manderly. The rest of the hall took up the call and Gendry could see that Jon looked a little uncomfortable but he was smiling and so was the queen. When the excitement died down, she began speaking once more.

"Gendry?" She said and he stood, feeling awkward as the attention of the crowded room turned to him. "You're Robert Baratheon's son. The Baratheons ruled Storm's End for hundreds of years, as you are the last known person who shares blood with them, I name you Gendry Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End."

Davos stood from his place and raised his cup immediately. "To Lord Gendry Baratheon."

The call was taken up by the others in the room just as it was for Jon and Gendry raised the cup in his hand toward the queen, a smile on his face, before his eyes once again drifted to Arya. She had a smile on her face as well and she tipped her head to him making his smile grow even more. He wasn't sure why she'd been avoiding him since the battle but her acknowledgement of him at least let him know that she didn't regret what they'd done. Whatever was going on with her, it didn't have to do with that, which lifted a weight off his shoulders but made him even more resolute on his need to talk to her. He hoped he'd be able to soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Arya found herself being summoned to the war room on the day before they were set to leave and when she entered seemingly the entire room turned to look at her. Queen Daenerys motioned her over to stand next to the large map on the table as she looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You sent for me, your grace?" She asked and Daenerys nodded.

"I did." She confirmed, tapping her fingers against the map. "You had some valuable input during the last meeting and seeing as we are leaving tomorrow to begin the march south, I wanted to check in with you and ask if you had any other suggestions before we do."

Arya noticed the people in the room still looking at her and they all seemed to be waiting for her to say something. She understood then that her input before had gained her a certain level of respect for her war planning and she certainly didn't want to lose that respect now so she took a moment to examine the map before speaking.

"The Long Night decimated our armies. We need more men." She said and Daenerys hummed quietly next to her.

"Do you have some idea of where we can get them? The northern lords have no more men to send, they were all fighting with us in the battle." She said and Arya nodded, her eyes flickering up to Sansa who was standing next to Lord Royce.

"We should send a raven to our cousin, Robin Arryn, in the vale. Tell him to call his banners and march them toward the Riverlands, we can meet up with them there on our way down." She said.

"The Knights of the Vale fought during the Long Night as well, My Lady." Lord Royce cut in. "Our numbers were decimated, same as yours."

"I'm aware of that but there are still soldiers in the vale who are not knights but rather infantry men and the like. They will help bolster our existing army at least slightly." Arya said before she glanced at Sansa. "If _you_ send word he's like to agree. You have a connection with him that the rest of us don't on account that you've actually met him. He respects you and he will answer your call for help."

"I will have a raven sent immediately." Sansa said and Arya nodded as her eyes went back to the map.

"We should also send word to Riverrun. After the death of the Freys our uncle, Lord Edmure Tully, retook the castle once more and he will back us without question. We can tell him to call his banners and they can meet us in the Riverlands as well." Arya said as she chewed in her lip and studied the map.

"That's good. It will give us a bigger army which will make taking King's Landing slightly easier." Jon said from where he was standing next to her and Daenerys nodded.

"Anything else?" She asked and Arya nodded.

"Dorne is not going to be able to help us, they're rebuilding under a new ruler and we have no alliance with them as of yet but they won't help Cersei either so we won't have to worry about them." She said, leaning over the map to point at the Reach. "Everyone in the Reach has already bent the knee to you so now we just need someone to go there and gather the remaining armies to assist us."

"Who would you suggest?" Tyrion asked.

"Samwell Tarly." Arya said immediately, glancing at Jon. "He's your friend and a loyal ally. With the death of the Tyrell family and the sack of Highgarden, House Tarly is the most powerful house still in the Reach. His father and brother are dead which makes him the Lord of Hornhill, he can rally the soldiers that remain. When we get south of the Neck, we can send him on to the Reach while we meet up with the forces from the Vale and the Riverlands and he can begin marching them north."

"I'll inform him after we conclude this meeting." Jon said and she nodded.

"We should also send Gendry to Storm's End when we get south of the Neck. He can take his place as Lord and call the banners there as well and march them North, same as Sam." She said before pointing to the map once more. "We know that Cersei has the Westerlands as she is a Lannister but she's commanded all the soldiers to come to King's Landing to protect her. We also know that the Lannisters abandoned Casterly Rock when they moved to take Highgarden so we won't have to worry about an attack from that side and can focus our full efforts on taking King's Landing. We have most of the Seven Kingdoms allied with us."

"So what's our strategy here?" Tyrion asked. "This will give us the men but what's the plan of attack? Do you have one?"

"I do." She said and she could see that the answer surprised him. 

"Do enlighten us then, Lady Stark." He said, waving his hand for her to continue.

"We'll be coming from the North and we have allies to the south of King's Landing in The Reach and the Stormlands." She explained. " We can continue our march south while they march their armies north. We can converge around King's Landing and once Yara Greyjoy deals with her uncle's fleet, she can move her ships to block the sea port. We'll have the city encircled in it's entirety, a full blockade from all sides, there will be no way out other than battle or surrender. They'll be able to maintain within the city for a few months at the most but eventually they will have to choose one or the other. That's our plan, that's how we'll win."

Silence fell over the room as everyone stared at her in shock for a long moment, Tyrion with his mouth actually open in surprise as if he didn't expect her to have an actually solid plan, before Daenerys seemed to shake herself and brought her hands together in a loud clap. The sound seemed to bring life back into everyone crowded around and people began moving around to carry out the things that needed to be done before they left and Arya used the chaos of the moment to step away from the map on the table and slink toward the door while everyone was occupied. Sansa seemed to notice her slipping away but Arya gave her a look to keep her from calling attention to her when their eyes met and her sister thankfully let her slip away unnoticed.

* * *

She had everything ready for them to begin the march south the next day so she didn't need to do any last minute packing or rushing around that everyone else in the castle seemed to be doing so she found herself in the depths of the crypts. The bodies had been taken up to be burned with the rest of them after the battle and the blood had been scrubbed from the stone statues so other than a few broken stone pieces, it seemed strangely untouched by the war which she was thankful for even when she knew it wasn't the truth.

She found herself standing in front of the statues depicting her family. She didn't know if Robb or her mother were actually buried here, if their bodies had been returned after the war, but she knew that her father and Rickon had been. Though, she supposed they might not be there anymore. She hadn't seen any bodies that looked like either of them being brought up from the crypts but there had been so many bodies to begin with that it was possible she'd just missed them in the masses. She didn't really want to think about that.

She distracted herself with moving to light the candles around their statues allowing the light from the small flames to flicker on the walls. She didn't think the statues looked much like their counterparts had when they were alive but she supposed that was because not many people remembered what they looked like. She found her eyes strangely going back to Rickon each time and she tried to remember what he'd looked like the last time she'd seen him. He'd been young then and smiling, he was always smiling.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of footsteps but she didn't turn around. She knew the cadence of the steps, knew exactly who was behind her when they came to a halt, and she knew he wouldn't hurt her. She was safe with him.

"You're not supposed to be down here, you know." She said, making her voice come out playful so he'd know she wasn't serious.

"What are you going to do, tell your lady sister?" He teased and she huffed a laugh as she glanced at him over her shoulder.

"No." She said. "Though, she probably already knows. Nothing happens in Winterfell without her knowing about it eventually."

His footsteps moved closer until he was standing directly behind her, close enough that she could feel the heat coming from his body, but she didn't turn to look at him. She kept her eyes on the statue in front of her.

"Who's this?" He asked, his voice soft and gentle.

"My little brother. Rickon." She answered, her voice just as soft. "He died during the Battle of the Bastards, when Jon and Sansa were fighting to win Winterfell back from the Boltons."

"What was he like?" He asked and she blew out a breath.

"I don't really know." She answered honestly. "He was so young the last time I saw him so I don't really know what he grew up to be like. He grew up without me."

"I'm sorry." He said, laying his hands on her shoulders. She could feel the hesitation in the movement but when she didn't immediately shrug him off, he squeezed lightly and left his hands firmly on her shoulders. If it was anyone else, she would have moved away the moment they touched her but she found that she didn't mind the small gesture of comfort, not when it came from him.

"I can't imagine him like this." She motioned to the statue. "Older, I mean. Logically I know that he was two and ten when he died, I know he must have grown just as we all did in the years after my father was killed, but I can't picture it. When I think of him, all I can see is that little boy with a bright smile that I left behind all those years ago. I never even got to say goodbye. I left, I kissed him and ruffled his hair like Jon always did to me and left. And then, I never saw him again."

She knew the sadness in her voice was evident and, to her horror, she felt tears burning at the back of her eyes. She closed them for a moment to prevent them from falling and Gendry pulled her back into him gently as his hands left her shoulders to slide down to her waist as he wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into him, allowing herself to feel all of it for the moment and take the comfort he was offering. For the first time in years she felt vulnerable with someone and she didn't mind it because she knew she could trust him.

"I wish...." She trailed off with a sigh as she opened her eyes once more.

"What?" He asked softly.

"He was so young when all of this started happening, he didn't really know a world without war." She said quietly. "I just wish he'd gotten to be a child for a little while longer. I wish we all had."

"Me too." He said, squeezing her lightly.

They were quiet for a time, each reflecting on the wish she'd spoken, but eventually she pulled away from him entirely. It didn't do well to dwell on dreams and could have beens, she knew that well enough. He didn't say anything when she pulled away but she could still feel the sudden tension in his body so she reached back and took his hand to pull him up next to her.

"What are you doing down here anyway?" She asked, finally addressing it as she looked up to meet his eyes. He shrugged in response.

"I saw you come down here and figured it was the best place to get you alone." He said and she raised an eyebrow at him causing a blush to color his face as his hand moved up to rub the back of his neck. "Not for that!"

"What then?" She asked and he blew out a breath.

"We should talk." He said quietly and her eyes fell to the floor.

"I suppose we should." She agreed. Neither of them spoke for a moment, unsure how to even begin, but finally he sighed and cleared his throat.

"So, that night, before the battle." He started. "You wanted to do that and I didn't protest but I need to know. Did you only do it because you wanted to know what it was like, as you said, and we all thought we were going to die or was there another reason?"

"Both." She said quietly as she brought her eyes back up to look at him.

"What does that mean?" He asked and she sighed as she gave a small shrug.

"I did want to know what it was like, I thought I was going to die and I didn't want to do that without at least experiencing sex, but that wasn't all it was." She said. "If I only wanted to have sex, I likely could have gone to any man in Winterfell for it but it wasn't really just about that."

"What was it about then?" He asked. 

"I trust you." She admitted. "You're probably one of the only people in the world who I trust completely and that's a big deal. I knew you wouldn't hurt me and I don't just mean that in a physical way. You were familiar and safe."

"So you picked me for it because I was a safe option?" He asked and, though he tried to hide it, she could see the hurt in his eyes.

"Yes, partially." She admitted. "That night, I picked you because you were safe and I wanted to do it just to see what it was like, to be that close to someone, just for a little while. I thought I could do it and it wouldn't mean anything, I thought I could walk away after. You're my friend and I know you, you'd let me do that even if it wasn't what you wanted, you'd let me walk away if I asked. You'd let it mean nothing if that's what I wanted, I know that, but..."

"But?" He asked and she chewed in her lip as she looked at him.

"But, I can't do that. I can't just walk away and act like it didn't mean anything because you _matter_ to me." She told him. "I care about you, which scares the hell out of me, and I'm not sure what to do here."

"Why does it scare you?" He asked quietly."You just said that you know I wouldn't hurt you."

"I don't think you'd hurt me Gendry, that's not why I'm scared." She said, running her hand over his face gently. He leaned into the touch and she could feel the stubble on his face. "I'm scared because the more people you care about, the more people that can hurt you. If something were to happen to you, I don't know that I could handle it. I've lost so much and I don't know if I'd survive losing anything else."

"You would. You're the strongest person I know." He said seriously. "But you're not going to lose me."

She shook her head immediately. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Okay, you're right. I can't guarantee anything but I've learned something in the years since we've last seen each other." He said, cradling her face in his hands. The wall in her mind between her and her emotions was fully down and she couldn't put it back up, not when he was looking at her with that expression on his face. One of utter devotion and love, she could recognize it easily even if she wanted not to. "I've learned that you can't push everything away for fear of losing it. I did that to you once and it utterly fucked everything up but we have a chance to fix that now so please, don't push me away."

"Gendry..." Her voice was soft and protesting. He kissed her and her mind went completely blank for a moment as she made a sound of surprise before returning the kiss easily.

"I love you." He said when he pulled away and the words went straight to her heart. His eyes were searching her face. "I love you, okay? I've loved you since we were kids and I don't think it's like to change anytime soon. Please Arry, don't push me away."

It was the childhood nickname that smashed through the last bit of resistance in her mind and made her pull him back in for a deeper kiss. She knew there was no way she could walk away now, not when he'd told her he loved her so sincerely that she had no choice but to believe him. 

"Okay." She breathed out softly.


	4. Chapter 4

Marching out with everyone was strange. He'd become used to Winterfell in the time he'd been there, gotten used to working in the forge and gotten used to the people around him, so leaving it felt a little strange. He could tell that Arya felt the same way but he knew it was a lot more emotional for her to be leaving. The last time she'd left to march toward King's Landing, she hadn't come back for years and had been forced to endure a lot in that time. He wished he could say something to comfort her or even just squeeze her hand lightly to let her know it was okay but he couldn't. After their conversation in the crypts, she hadn't been pushing him away anymore but she had told him that she didn't want to act in any way like a couple in front of the other lords because she didn't want the gossip and judgement before they figured out what they were themselves and he respected her decision.

She was riding with her sister by her side. She'd been surprised when Lady Sansa had said she was going, he'd heard her questioning her sister, but obviously they'd come to an agreement because when they finally rode out Sansa was among them. Bran had been left in Winterfell, he'd been coming back to himself since the Night King had been killed, or at least he didn't give that unnerving stare too often anymore, so it had been decided that he should stay behind and get better. He'd heard the phrase _There must always be a Stark in Winterfell_ enough times that he knew it was important to them so the fact that Bran was becoming less creepy was what had allowed Sansa to join them, or that's what he'd gathered from passing conversation.

As they rode through the seemingly endless wilderness on the trek south, he found himself thankful for the warm furs around him as the wind blew past them. The northermen among them seemed to have no problem with it but he noticed the people he knew were from the south huddling in their cloaks for warmth just as he was. He caught Arya's eye for only a moment and she raised an eyebrow at him as a smirk fell onto her lips. He knew she was mocking him even without words and he rolled his eyes, making her snort quietly. 

No one seemed to be in the mood to make conversation and as a result, by the time the sun began to set and they had to stop to make camp, it felt like they'd been marching for far longer than just a day. Movement started up around the camp as soon as they'd come to a stop as people began setting up tents and making a fire in the center, and Gendry moved to help where he could. After everything was set up, food was passed around the camp and a group of northmen started playing lightly on the instruments they'd pulled from somewhere, he wasn't quite sure where, but the music was subdued. He liked it anyway. Arya came to sit next to him but she made a point not to touch him in front of the others.

"This reminds me of traveling with the Brotherhood, when Tom would play, you remember?" She asked and he glanced at her.

"I remember." He said. "He was always coming up with new songs to sing."

"I thought they were nice and I didn't even like songs much, not the kind he played anyway, with princes and lost love. That was more Sansa's thing." She said and he raised an eyebrow.

"And what kind of songs did you like?" He asked. 

"The ones with heroes and dragons." She said with a smile. "But still, he had a nice voice so I didn't mind the songs."

"Do you remember that one he sang? About a forest love?" He asked, curious if she remembered. It was the song Tom would always play when they were around and it took time but Gendry eventually realized that Tom had designated it as _their_ song. He wondered if she knew that.

"I remember." She said, echoing his answer and the look in her eyes telling him that she had realized it. He should have suspected, she'd always been smarter than him, if he'd noticed then she definitely had.

"What are you two talking about?" Jon asked, startling both of them and making them glance at him. He was sitting a little ways away from them with the Queen by his side.

"A song." Arya answered honestly. "When we were traveling with the Brotherhood there was a man called Tom who used to sing songs that he'd come up with himself. There's one song that we both remember, is all."

"Will you sing it for us?" Queen Daenerys asked and Gendry saw Arya's eyes go wide.

"No one knows the music that goes with it." Gendry protested on her behalf. "And besides, neither of us can sing."

"Arya can." Sansa piped up. "She was taught when we were younger."

"You always said I was terrible." Arya said with a raised eyebrow. Sansa blushed lightly.

"Yeah well, I was awful then." She said with a shrug. "And it wasn't the truth."

"Please?" Daenerys said. "It must be some song if you both remember it."

Arya looked at him with wide eyes.

"I'm sure we could figure out a melody if the two of you sang it. It won't be the same but we could try." One of the northmen said with a gentle smile. "I think we'd all like to hear a song."

"Um..." He trailed off, unsure what to say as he and Arya stared at each other for a long moment before he sighed. They'd all fought the army of the dead together and survived and he knew that they were all so eager because it was a way to distract them from their thoughts for a time and he couldn't refuse them, even if he really couldn't sing, so finally he said. "Okay."

_My featherbed is deep and soft,_   
_ and there I'll lay you down, _   
_I'll dress you all in yellow silk,_   
_ and on your head a crown. _

He started, his voice soft and hesitant but everyone around them was smiling and leaning in to hear the words. Arya's voice rose to join him in the next moment as the northmen started playing a soft melody to accompany them.

_For you shall be my lady love,_   
_ and I shall be your lord. _   
_I'll always keep you warm and safe,_   
_ and guard you with my sword. _

Arya grinned at him with that line and he found himself returning it. They both knew she was far better with a sword than he was.

_And how she smiled and how she laughed,_   
_ the maiden of the tree. _   
_She spun away and said to him,_   
_ no featherbed for me. _

He had to fight the blush that came to his face when she raised an eyebrow at him and the images of them together came unbidden to his mind. They certainly hadn't been on a featherbed.

_I'll wear a gown of golden leaves,_   
_ and bind my hair with grass, _   
_But you can be my forest love,_   
_and me your forest lass._

They ended the song on a soft note and the people around them clapped. Gendry turned his eyes away from her, lest the others around them notice his hopelessly lovesick expression, and found Sansa staring at them with something calculating in her eyes.

"What?" Arya asked, letting him know that she noticed the look too.

"Nothing, it just seems strange that you both remember that song so well." She said. "It seems almost perfect for the two of you."

"What do you mean?" Gendry asked with a furrowed brow. Tom had made it their song but he didn't think it was perfect for them or anything like that, it certainly hadn't been written with them in mind, at least he didn't think it had, so he had no idea what she was talking about.

"I'll dress you all in yellow silk and on your head a crown." She said pointedly. "The Baratheon colors are yellow and black, hence the yellow silk, and you're the son of a king, the crown."

"That's just a coincidence." Arya protested.

"Alright, in the song it also says that she'll be his lady love and he her lord but she refuses and says no featherbed for me." Sansa said. "She refuses to be a lady, just like you tend to do, and says he can be her forest love instead and she can be his forest lass. The two of you wondered around in the forest together most of the time you've known each other, or at least that's what I've gathered from the stories, so like I said, it's perfect for the two of you."

She seemed proud of her deduction despite the heat in his and Arya's cheeks, a self satisfied grin on her face, and Gendry decided then and there to never get on her bad side. Arya cleared her throat next to him and turned to the northmen.

" _Anyway_." She said pointedly, not even acknowledging the words her sister said. "Why don't you guys play something more upbeat? We've just won a war against the dead, we should celebrate that as much as we can before we have to fight the next one."

"As you say, my lady." One of them said before they launched into an energetic song. The people crowded around the camp cheered and he noticed more than one person getting up to dance. Arya had effectively distracted them from questioning Sansa's sudden interpretation of their song and he was grateful. He agreed with her that he didn't want gossip to start about them just yet.

He noticed the squire that was always hovering around Lady Sansa's sworn shield shyly extend his hand to her and ask her for a dance and the normally poised lady's cheeks went as red as her hair but she accepted the dance after a moment. Gendry could see Arya watching them with a calculating eye so he bumped her shoulder lightly to get her attention.

"She's fine." He said softly. 

"I don't want her getting hurt. She's been through enough already." She said and he nodded. He'd heard the stories about Lady Sansa's husband and the things he'd done to her but he'd also heard the stories about what _she'd_ done to _him_ , after the battle had been won.

"The squire isn't going to hurt her." He said. "Even I know he's far too nice for that and I've not spent any significant amount of time with him."

"He's a knight, not a squire." She corrected. "Ser Brienne knighted him after the battle for his bravery and years of service."

"Still." He said, rolling his eyes. "He's harmless. Not to mention, he stares at your sister like she hung the stars when he thinks no one is looking."

"Really?" She asked, seeming put out. "I didn't notice that."

"You were focused on other things, I'm sure." He said, squeezing her shoulder lightly. He figured the contact was safe enough right now as everyone seemed distracted and likely wouldn't notice it. 

They sat together, watching everyone else, until Jon came over to them with a grin on his face.

"Arya." He said, holding out his hand to her with his fingers wiggling. "It's been a long time since I've danced with my little sister."

"Jon." She said, the protest obvious in her voice.

"You wouldn't disappoint your favorite brother would you?" He asked, an actual pout on his face and Arya blew out a sigh.

"Oh for the sake of the Gods." She huffed out before taking his hand and allowing him to pull her up from the ground. A grin broke out on Jon's face as he dragged her back to the crowd of people dancing and spun her around.

Gendry felt as if his eyes were fixated on her. She was spinning in her brother's arms and smiling, a real smile, not the fake one she'd been carrying, the smile he'd only seen once or twice since they'd been reunited, and it struck him how beautiful she was. He knew she was pretty, she had been even when covered in mud and dressed as a boy, but now she was breathtaking. The happiness on her face illuminated this fact to him quite easily.

He was so caught up in watching her dance with her brother that he didn't notice the presence next to him until she cleared her throat. His eyes left Arya only for a moment to glance over and he found the Queen standing next to him. He greeted her with a tilt of his head even as his eyes went back to Arya and he noted that she was watching the same pair.

"You love her." She said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes." He answered anyway. 

"Does she know that?" She asked.

"I've told her." He said and he saw her nod out of the corner of her eye.

"Good." She said. "We should tell the people we love that we love them, it's important."

"Yeah." He agreed softly. 

"Anyway, I came over to speak to you for a reason." She said and that caught his attention. He finally dragged his eyes away from Arya to look at the woman next to him.

"Oh?" He asked, suddenly apprehensive of what she wanted but she was smiling at him so he figured it couldn't be that bad.

"I don't know if you know this but you and I are kin." She said and he stared at her incredulously.

"What?" He asked and she laughed softly.

"Your great grandmother was a Targaryen." She told him. "You are one of the last people in the world who can claim that bloodline directly. You and I are family, in a way, and I just wanted to speak to you. We haven't spent much time together but I wanted to remedy that, we're the last family we've got, after all. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not, your grace." He said, his mind still reeling from the information she'd just given him. He never met his own father so finding out that he had Targaryen blood in him, even a little, was a bit of a shock. He'd thought, like most people, that they'd been all but wiped out and now he was finding out that he'd carried a part of their blood in him this whole time, it was a bit strange.

"Now, we've got that sorted." She said, holding out a hand. "Shall we dance?"

"I'm not very good, your grace." He protested and she smiled.

"You can not refuse your queen, Lord Baratheon. It's rude." She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the fray despite his protest. She moved around him gracefully while he just tried to avoid stepping on anyone's toes.

As they all spun around together, the music floating through the forest, he finally allowed himself to let go and relax. No one was even paying attention to him, they didn't care if he could dance or not, they were all just reveling in the fact that they were alive. He was thoroughly surprised when Daenerys spun away from him and the next moment, Arya was in his arms. She stared up at him, seeming just as surprised as he was to find herself here, and he glanced over her shoulder at Jon. Daenerys was now dancing with him and he gave Gendry a grin before spinning away with his queen.

He looked back down at Arya to see her staring at her brother's retreating back with narrowed eyes and he knew she'd seen the grin. He took her hand and spun her around, successfully distracting her from Jon. He knew the other man had spun her into his arms on purpose and she obviously did too but she didn't protest so he figured she didn't actually mind that much.

"I didn't think you could dance." She said and he raised an eyebrow.

"Do I look like I know what I'm doing?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. She shrugged as a grin crossed her face.

"You're a little clumsy but not the worst I've seen." She said and he rolled his eyes.

"Careful or I might step on your toes on purpose, M'lady." He told her, she raised an eyebrow at him.

"You can try." She said, a laugh leaving her mouth.

"Confident, aren't you?" He asked as he spun her around again.

"Yep." She said. "I've always been quicker than you, remember?"

"I remember." He said, his voice full of fond exasperation. She glanced around them for a moment, her grin softening to a smile.

"You know, I don't remember the last time there was this much dancing when no one was drunk." She said. "It's strange to see people dancing just because they want to and not because they're in their cups."

"I suppose it's been a while since people have found a reason to celebrate that didn't need to involve drinking." He said. "It's been a hard few years."

"Yeah." She said quietly. He caressed her face lightly, making her look at him.

"We should enjoy it while it lasts." He said simply. "Who knows what tomorrow will bring."

She nodded and allowed him to spin her back into the crowd, they could enjoy tonight along with everyone else. They were marching toward another war, hopefully the last for a while, but they could take tonight. They could celebrate along with everyone else and relish in the fact that they'd made it out of the battle where so many people had fallen and be glad that they were all there together. They could take this pause for just one night to behave like the young people they really were and unburden themselves. The large smile across both of their faces was worth it, he thought.


	5. Chapter 5

They'd been marching south for a full moons pass when Arya began to suspect something was wrong. She felt out of sorts and had been getting sick in the mornings, or if she smelled some types of food being passed around, and it was becoming increasingly harder to ignore. She didn't think anyone had noticed yet, she'd gone to great lengths to make sure they hadn't, but she had her suspicions about what it was. She wasn't stupid, she'd heard enough about how women had children to know the first signs. Not only was she ill, her moonblood hadn't come when she'd expected it. She knew she couldn't just ignore it.

She and Gendry hadn't been intimate again since the night before the battle but she knew they hadn't been safe that night, both too caught up in the moment and the fear of what was coming, so she knew it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. She hadn't taken moon tea afterword because she honestly thought she couldn't have children after the injury she'd gotten from The Waif in Braavos but obviously, she'd been wrong in her assumption. 

When they finally stopped for the night, she made her way to the tent that housed Samwell Tarly as he was the closest thing they had to a maester and she needed to make sure she was correct in her assumption before she worried over it or said anything to anyone. When she flipped the tent open and entered, she found the man hovering over a book as his eyes flickering across the page, but he glanced up when he heard her.

"Lady Arya." He greeted, putting the book to the side as he turned to face her. "Can I do something for you?"

"I've been sick." She told him and he looked at her with concern.

"What kind of sick?" He asked. "I need to know so I can treat you properly."

"I'm pretty sure I know what it is." She said quickly as he came toward her as if he was going to press his hand to her forehead and he paused in his steps. "I just didn't think I could."

"Could what, my lady?" He asked, his brow furrowed. She glanced around hesitantly, hoping that no one was around the tent to overhear the conversation they were about to have.

"I didn't think I could bear children." She said quietly.

"Oh." He said, surprise lacing the word as his eyes drifted to her stomach. He seemed to shake himself after a moment and his eyes came back to hers. "Why would you think that?"

"I was injured a while ago, before I came back to Winterfell. I thought it would prevent me from having children." She told him. He stared at her with pursed lips before he hesitantly approached her once again.

"May I see?" He asked and she blew out a sigh before nodding. Her hands moved to unlace her leather jerkin before pulling her tunic up to allow him to see the scars. He examined them with his eyes before glancing at her as he reached out to touch them. His fingers were warm against her skin and he was being respectful in his touches but it still made her feel uncomfortable. "These wouldn't prevent you from bearing children, my lady."

"They wouldn't?" She asked and he shook his head.

"If I may. Here is where a babe is carried." He said, touching her skin lightly just above the hem of her breeches before his hand slid back over to touch the stab wounds in her side and the long thin scar above them. "They're quite serious injuries and I'm amazed that you survived them without the help of a maester but they would, in no way, prevent you from falling pregnant or from carrying a babe to birth."

"Oh." She said in a quite voice and she saw him study her.

"I could give you something to cast the babe out if you wanted." He told her. "From what I can tell, you aren't far into the pregnancy. It's not too late for something like that."

"No." She said immediately, shaking her head. She hadn't intended to get with child when she'd laid with Gendry but she couldn't bring herself to just cast it out. "I don't want that."

"Alright." Sam said easily. "Do you have any idea when you fell pregnant?"

"I know exactly when it happened." She said. "The night before the battle in Winterfell."

"Ah." He said, nodding in understanding. "Very well, everything seems to be in order. I must warn you, the sickness is going to linger for quite a while, at least a few moon passes but I've heard some women deal with it for the full duration of their pregnancy. You will begin to grow as well and - "

"My mother had five children, two of them coming after me, I know how it goes." She cut him off. "I just wanted to confirm my suspicions and I've done that. I can handle it from here."

"If you're sure, my lady." He said.

"I am." She said, staring at him for a long moment. "My brother doesn't need to know about this. I'll tell him when I'm ready for him to know."

"Understood, my lady." He answered. She nodded and turned to leave but his voice called her back and she turned to find him rummaging through his bag. He came over to her with a pot of what seemed to be some type of oil in his hand and held it out to her. She looked at him in question as she took it.

"What's this for?" She asked.

"You should rub it into the scars every day to keep them soft." He said. "As you start to grow, it will stretch the skin and it would be better if they were soft enough to stretch along with the rest of your stomach. You wouldn't want them to burst open again."

"Right, thank you." She said sincerely as she looked at the pot in her hand. Finally she shook her head and turned once again to finally leave the tent, her head swirling with thoughts. The sun had sunk below the horizon not long ago and everyone was getting settled for the night so no one paid much attention to her coming from Sam's tent which she was grateful for. She didn't need them all asking questions about why she'd gone to see him in the first place.

 _The seed is strong._ The phrase had been uttered many a time in reference to the Baratheon bloodline but she hadn't thought about it after the night they'd shared. She'd thought they were all going to die and when they didn't, she'd been so caught up in elation that the thought had never crossed her mind, and now she had only one thought in her head. _Fucking Baratheons._

She knew it wasn't his fault, she'd been the one who had initiated their night together after all and she'd been the one who hadn't taken moon tea because she'd stupidly thought she didn't need too, but still it was annoying. She was beginning to understand why Robert Baratheon had had so many bastards throughout the Seven Kingdoms. They'd only lain together once and yet, here they were. She knew she had to tell him so she gave a cursory glance to the group around the fire and, upon not seeing him there, made her way to his tent.

He was inside, as she had suspected, bent over the table in front of him as Ser Davos was trying to explain something to him. She knew the man had been teaching Gendry to read and she suspected that that was what was happening now. They both glanced up when she cleared her throat to make her presence known and Davos looked between them before he started making his way out.

"I'll leave you two to talk." He inclined his head to her as he passed and she returned the gesture. Once he was out of the tent, they were left in silence for a moment before she moved to stand next to him.

"Hey." He said softly, leaning down to kiss her. It was a move she was becoming familiar with, it seemed that he couldn't get enough of it, but she didn't mind. She returned the kiss for a moment before she pulled back and looked up at him.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Learning to read." He said, confirming her suspicions as he moved the paper to the side. "It's a lot harder than it looks."

"You'll get it eventually." She assured him.

"Did you need something?" He asked. "You usually don't come to my tent until most people are asleep so it doesn't start gossip."

"I wanted to talk to you." She said as she hopped up to sit on the table. 

"Oh?" He asked, his head tilting to the side as he looked at her. "What about?"

She chewed on her lip as she debated for a moment on what to say. She certainly didn't want to just blurt it out so she diverted the conversation away from it for the moment.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked. 

"Of course." He said with a nod.

"Why did you accept the lordship when Queen Daenerys offered it?" She asked. His eyebrows raised and she could tell by his expression that he hadn't been expecting the question she'd asked.

"It gave me a name." He said quietly.

"Seriously Gendry? I know you, you never gave a damn about it before. You detested lords and ladies, hated that they started wars and burned the countryside with no regard for the common people." She said. "I guess I just don't understand why it matters now when it didn't then. Tell me the truth."

" Okay." He sighed. "Look, I don't know anything about being a lord, I wasn't raised to be one but what I do know is that I love you. The truth is I accepted it because of _you_."

"Because of me?" She asked, her brow furrowing in confusion. He blew out a breath as he looked at her seriously. 

"You have a name, Arya. A family, a House, all of it. You are a lady, no matter how much you protest against it or say you're not." He said, staring at her with an intense look in his eyes. "I've loved you since we were children who didn't even really know what the word meant. I never said anything because I knew, even then, that you were worlds above me so I pushed you away. I wanted to save myself some heartache when you finally realized that you were too good for me but then we got separated and I spent years thinking you were dead all while blaming myself. You're right, I don't give a damn about a lordship or a castle, but being legitimized gave me a name to use, a name that _matters_."

"It wasn't your fault." She told him, addressing his words about blaming himself but he shook his head in disagreement of what she said.

"It was. I should've left with you, I should have gone to Winterfell when you asked me, but that's not the point right now. The point is, I've gotten a chance to fix all of the mistakes I made and choose the right thing this time. To choose _you_." He said, his eyes staring into hers. "You asked me to tell you the truth and the truth is, I accepted the lordship and the name because I felt like it finally made me worthy of you, it felt like _we_ finally made sense."

"Gendry." She said his name softly, reaching out to cradle his face in her hands. "You were always worthy of me, as a bullheaded bastard blacksmith or as a lord."

"Maybe you really believed that but I never did, and neither would anyone else if they would have known, but now I have something more to offer you than a life full of hardship and wondering where the next meal was coming from. I can offer you a life where we can be together and no one would protest or try to pull us apart. Should you choose to accept it, of course. That's why I accepted it, for you. For _us_." He said, leaning their foreheads together. She relished in the feel of him so close to her, taking a moment to just breath him in and to just be there together before she spoke again.

"Do you remember what I said in that conversation we had before we got separated?" She asked softly and he leaned back slightly to look at her once more.

"You asked me to be your family." He said, regret and sadness lacing his tone. "And I refused."

"When I asked you to be my family that night, when I said _I can be your family_ , it wasn't really a question." She told him. "What I was really saying was that you were already mine."

"Arya." He breathed out her name. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm not angry and I'm not trying to make you feel guilty." She said, smiling at him. "What I'm saying is, you were my family then and you _still are_."

"What do you mean?" He asked quietly.

"What I mean is, you don't need to ask me to stay." She said. "I fought for years to get back to my family and now that I have, I don't intend on letting _any_ of them go any time soon. Where you go, I go."

He kissed her then and she happily returned it, her legs wrapping around his waist and dragging him closer and her arms wound around his neck. One of his hands slid into her hair and the other landed on her hip as he pulled her forward into him and their kisses became more heated. She was pressed flush against him and could feel him growing harder against the most intimate part of her body and she made a soft sound in her throat, trying to press herself closer, a physical impossibility unless they stripped off their clothes which seemed to be where this was headed.

She didn't mind that option at all but a little voice in the back of her head, the one that sounded suspiciously like Sansa, reminded her that she needed to tell him what she'd come to say in the first place. He needed to know. She reluctantly pulled away from him and his lips immediately began trailing down her neck, thoroughly distracting her for a few minutes, before she forced her mind away from sex and pushed his shoulders lightly.

"Wait." She breathed out and his hands froze automatically where they had started trailing along her sides. He pulled away from her almost completely and looked at her with concern in his eyes.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked softly. "Something you didn't want me to?"

"No." She ran her hands along his face in a comforting gesture as she spoke. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's just that I came here for a reason and I don't want to get distracted until we talk about it."

"Oh?" He inquired, his eyes studying her face. She honestly wasn't sure what it was reflecting right now. "What's going on?"

"The night before the battle in Winterfell." She started hesitantly. "We thought we were going to die and we weren't careful."

"Careful?" He asked and she glanced up to meet his eyes.

"When we laid together." She clarified and she could see his mind working over the words she'd spoken. She knew the moment he fully understood what it meant because his eyes went wide and flicked down to her stomach before coming back up to hers.

"Arya...." His voice reflected the surprise in his eyes. "Are you....?"

"With child?" She asked, a soft huff of air leaving her lips. "Yeah."

His hands came up to rub over his face as he blew out a deep breath of air. 

"Gods, Jon's going to kill me." He said in a low voice.

"No he isn't." She said, trying to soothe him. She could tell the information was affecting him deeply, he was panicking, and that was the last thing they needed right now. "I won't let him."

"I don't think he's going to listen to you when he finds out about this." Gendry said. "I dishonored you."

"No you didn't." She said, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "I don't believe a woman's honor depends solely on the thing between her legs, that's such a stupid idea. I'm the one who initiated it anyway."

"Yeah, maybe don't say that to your brother." Gendry suggested. 

"Jon can't really say anything, he and the Dragon Queen aren't married and everyone knows what they do together." She said seriously. "Besides, I like to think he's a bit more reasonable than that. He wouldn't just kill you because you had sex with his sister."

"It's different with us than it is with them." Gendry said seriously and she raised an eyebrow. 

"Why?" She asked.

"Because Daenerys has been married before." He said simply and she shrugged, still not really seeing his point.

"So?" She asked and he sighed.

"You were a maiden." He said quietly. "Daenerys isn't but you were. That's why it's different."

"It shouldn't matter. It was my choice and if my brother has a problem with it, he can take it up with me." She told him seriously. "I chose you. I chose to do it with you, it should be no one's business but our own."

"You know it doesn't work like that." He said softly, finally coming back to stand in front of her.

"We'll figure it out when it comes to it." She replied. He reached out after a moment and his hand settled over her stomach.

"I never wanted to father a bastard." He said with a sigh.

"I know." She answered. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." He said.

They stayed in that position for a long time, both of them lost in thought, until the sounds from the camp died down around them. Gendry took her hand without saying anything and she hopped down from the table to follow him over to the cot that was set up for him to sleep. They both readied themselves for bed and laid down together, and after a moment he pulled her into him, her back pressing firmly into his chest, and his hand settled over her belly.

"It's going to be okay." She whispered softly. He hummed quietly in response and pressed a kiss to the back of her head. She hoped she was right.


	6. Chapter 6

After Arya had told him that she was with child, it had taken him a while to fully wrap his head around it and now that he had he was worried about how Jon would react to it. It would be different if Jon was just Arya's brother but he wasn't. He was Gendry's friend and while he seemed fine with their relationship, he knew that once he found out about this, he wasn't likely to take it well. On top of all of that, Gendry was caught up in his thoughts about the child being a bastard. He'd never wanted to father a bastard, having no desire to be like his father, but he'd ended up here anyway.

He knew that if he and Arya got married then the child wouldn't be a bastard but he'd meant it when he told Jon back in Winterfell that he didn't think Arya would agree to get married and he didn't want to push her into it so he hadn't brought it up. The whole situation was stressing him out and he knew that others around them could tell because he'd received concerned looks from both Davos and Jon. He tried to ignore them.

When they stopped for a break so that everyone could stretch their legs and eat something, he wondered away from the group to a small stream where he filled up his wineskin with water and heard footsteps behind him as he rose up. He turned around to find Davos walking toward him and the man came to a stop when he reached him.

"Are you alright lad?" He asked.

"I'm fine." Gendry told him and Davos raised an eyebrow.

"I only ask because after Jon's sister came to see you, you've seemed a bit out of sorts." He said, studying Gendry's face.

"It's nothing, really." Gendry said. He didn't want to come right out and say what it was she'd come to see him about. He trusted Davos but he also knew that the man was one of Jon's advisors and might feel honor bound to tell him before Gendry had a chance to think about how to explain what had happened in a way that wouldn't get him killed. Or before he'd even really discussed it with Arya herself.

"Why was Lord Stark's sister coming to see you in your tent anyway?" Davos asked, giving him a face that let Gendry know the man thought he was being stupid. "I do hope that nothing improper is going on. I doubt he'd take it well."

"Nothing improper happened." He said, though the blush he could feel on his face didn't seem all too convincing to the other man.

"You're going to get yourself killed boy." Davos said, glancing over his shoulder. Gendry presumed that he was checking that they were still alone.

"Jon knows that I love her." Gendry told him. "He didn't seem to mind the idea."

"He'd mind if you were being inappropriate with her." Davos said lowly. He looked ready to say more, maybe lecture Gendry on propriety once again, but Jon chose that moment to appear through the trees as if summoned by the very mention of his own name. They both fell quiet, an unspoken agreement to pick the conversation back up at a later time, and Jon gave them both a friendly smile as he refilled his own wineskin.

"Jon." Gendry greeted with a nod.

"Gendry, Davos." He nodded back. Once he finished refilling and tying the wineskin to his belt, he looked up to meet Gendry's eyes. "I wanted to speak to you."

"Oh?" Gendry asked, his voice slightly higher than usual but thankfully Jon didn't seem to notice.

"We'll be passing through the Neck by tomorrow so it should only take a few more days to join up with the armies from the Riverlands and the Vale." He explained. "Once we meet up with them, that's when you and Sam will break from the group to go further south and gather more men. I'll be sending a contingent of men with each of you to help with any problems you might run into on the way."

"Alright." Gendry agreed easily.

"I also want to send Ser Davos with you." Jon said, tilting his head toward the other man. "He knows the Stormlands better than the rest of us and he's been a great advisor to both me and Stannis Baratheon so I believe with his assistance it should all go smoothly. It will also allow him to get used to advising you since you've requested that he come to Storm's End with you when the war has been won. Do you agree to that?"

"Aye." Davos said.

"Good, that's settled then." Jon said. "Let's get back to the others, we need to be heading out again soon."

They both nodded and followed him back toward the rest of the army. His eye caught on Arya immediately when they broke through the trees, almost as if drawn to her, and he saw her brushing her hand against her horses neck absently as she talked to her sister. He could tell by her posture and the blush on Sansa's cheeks that she was obviously teasing her about something.

Her eyes left her sister and flickered over to meet his like she could feel his stare on her. She probably could, she'd gotten incredibly good at reading people and sensing things that normal people wouldn't since they'd been separated. She gave him a small smile, sending a world of emotions swirling through him, before she turned back to her sister once more. He knew she was trying to avoid lingering looks between them, still determined to keep their relationship a secret, but he knew that it would be difficult to deny soon.

He wondered if maybe she just wouldn't mention a father when it became impossible to hide the pregnancy or if she'd say it belonged to someone who fell during the Long Night. He knew that she'd be determined to protect him at all costs so a lie about the father made the most sense to him but he hated the thought. Hated to think about Arya saying she'd been with someone else, even if it was a lie. What's more is that he hated to think of his child being believed to be someone else's even if it was a bastard. He knew he'd have to talk to Arya about it and tell her his thoughts on it. He didn't think telling Jon about the pregnancy would do wonders for his health but he also didn't want Arya to lie about the child's parentage.

His thoughts were consumed with these concerns as they began their trek south once more making the journey seem much shorter and he was honestly surprised when the sun started sinking. Once they stopped to make camp, a fire was built in the center as it had been in every place they'd camped. It was warmer here than it was in Winterfell but not so much that a fire wasn't needed to keep warm. He knew the further south they went, the smaller the fires would be built as they'd only serve as light rather than being there for warmth, but for now the fire was a large one.

He accepted a hunk of bread and dried meat from a passing man as his eyes took in the people scattered around the fire. Jon and Daenerys were sitting on bench that had been covered with furs while everyone else was spread out on the ground. No one seemed to mind having to sit on the dirt, unconcerned with the state of their clothes as they all talked over one another and laughter rang out. Everyone seemed relaxed and happier than he'd ever seen people who were heading off to war but he supposed they'd beat the literal icy dead so maybe they were all thinking that a tyrant queen would be easy compared to that. He was inclined to agree, it would likely be comparatively easier, but that didn't mean it wouldn't still be difficult.

Arya was talking to her sister on the other side of the fire, seeming deep in discussion about something, as he retreated from the gathering but she glanced at him as he passed and their eyes met for a split second and he knew she'd join him in his tent later, most likely once most of the camp was asleep. It was routine between them now and something he knew people wouldn't approve of but he wasn't about to tell Arya not to come. He enjoyed having her so close, even if they weren't doing anything sexual. He just liked to know she was there, that she hadn't disappeared. It was comforting.

* * *

He was practicing his letters at the table set up in his tent to keep himself awake when she came in later that night. She kicked off her boots by the cot almost as soon as she came in and he stood from his chair and came around the table to pull her into his arms. She accepted the kiss he gave her easily, leaning into him without protest, until he pulled back and smiled down at her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, his hand running over her belly gently. There was nothing there to feel yet, nothing that would indicate their growing child, but the gesture made her smile.

"I'm fine." She said before she pulled out of his arms to look at him. The smile on her face was replaced by a serious expression. "We should talk to Jon."

"Why?" Gendry asked.

"We should tell him about the baby." She said, her eyes tracing over his face. "He's my brother, as much as I hate it we'll need his permission."

"Permission?" Gendry asked, raising an eyebrow. She nodded.

"To get married." She said and he started at her for a long moment, his eyes blinking rapidly as he processed what she'd said.

"Married?" He asked, the surprise obvious in his voice. He'd thought about it himself but he hadn't thought she'd be the one to bring it up. She shrugged, her eyes dropping to her feet.

"You said you didn't want to father a bastard." She said quietly. "If we get married now we can let everyone believe that the child was conceived in the marriage bed."

"I don't want you to marry me just so I won't father a bastard." He said gently, understanding now why she'd suggested it. "I'd never push you to do something that you didn't want to."

"Who said I didn't want to?" She asked, looking up at him with a furrowed brow. He sighed as he brushed her hair back from her face.

"You've always hated the idea of marriage, Arry, even I know that." He told her. " And that's okay, I don't want you to be something you're not and you don't have to do this. It's true that I didn't want to father a bastard but it's not the worst thing that could happen. The worst thing would be if I forced you into doing something that made you unhappy just because we were stupid."

"I didn't hate the idea of marriage, I hated what marriage represented when I was younger. Marriage, to me , meant I'd be forced to marry whatever lord my father chose and I'd be expected to sit in his castle and give him as many children as he decided he wanted and be expected to be a proper lady. They would have taken away my sword and forced me into a dress and expected me to act like someone I wasn't. Marriage meant giving up who I was." She explained, taking his hand in hers as she looked at him seriously. "But this, _us_ , it isn't like that. I don't hate the idea of marriage, not if it's you. You _know_ me and you accept me, just as I am, and you've never once asked me to change. And I....."

She trailed off as she sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth. His heart was racing as he processed that this was really happening, she was really asking him to marry her.

"And?" He asked, sounding almost breathless. Her eyes flickered back up to meet his from where she had dropped them when she'd been speaking.

"I love you." The words were almost a whisper but he heard them anyway. He'd said them to her many times at this point but this was the first time she'd said them back.

He stared at her in shock for a moment before his brain seemed to catch up and he kissed her deeply. She made a soft sound of approval in her throat, winding her arms around his neck, and kissed him back. He lifted her up with an arm around her waist and sat her on the table, making the height difference between them less of an issue, and her legs wrapped around him immediately. 

"I love you too." He breathed out as he leaned back from the kiss. She smiled widely before pulling him back in again as her hands left the back of his neck to play along the hem of his shirt.

Her hands were hesitant at first as they slipped beneath the fabric of his tunic but became more confident as she ran them along his abdomen and chest. He pulled back again to yank his tunic over his head and drop it to the floor before he pulled at the laces on the front of her leather jerkin and slid it off her shoulders. She helped him pull it down her arms and it soon joined his shirt on the floor as he kissed her again, the movement filled with heat and more charged than it had been before, and he nibbled on her bottom lip until she opened to allow him to slip his tongue in.

His hands pulled at the edge of her tunic where it was tucked into her breeches until it came free and he had access to allow his hands to wonder along her skin. He paused when he felt the scars on her side under his fingertips, becoming distracted, and he could tell the moment she noticed because she pulled out of the kiss and looked at him with a question in her eyes.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"Are you ever going to tell me how you got these?" He asked softly.

"One day." She answered, her voice just as soft. They stared at each other for a moment before she blew out a breath. "Let's not think about that right now." 

She took the opportunity to pull her own tunic over her head but that only served to give him a full view of the scars under his fingertips and he got caught up in the sight of them. He'd seen them the night they'd lain together and they'd concerned him but she hadn't given him the chance to ask about them, or even to really look at them, that night. Now though, the dead weren't marching toward them and they had time, allowing him to get caught up in his thoughts. He heard her huff softly as she grabbed his chin with her hand and forced his eyes away from her scars and up to meet her own. 

"Stop thinking so hard." She said, using her legs around his waist to pull his body in to press against hers. "We can talk about all of this later and I'll tell you anything you want to know, I promise, but right now _I want you_ Gendry." 

The words were practically a purr, a sound he never thought he'd hear coming from her, and it effectively pulled his thoughts back toward the task at hand.

"As you wish, m'lady." He said, his voice low. He saw her roll her eyes but he felt the smile on her lips when he claimed them once more so he knew she wasn't too annoyed at the title.

His hands slid up her sides once more, passing over the scars easily, as he cupped her breasts in his hands. He squeezed them lightly as he brushed his thumbs over her nipples and she gasped into his mouth as her back arched to press herself into him even more. He teased her breasts in his hands drawing soft sounds from her as his lips left her mouth to trail along the side of her neck. He pushed her back gently, making her lean backwards slightly, and continued his path down her skin until he reached her breasts. He ran his tongue around her nipple, bringing it to a hard peak, before moving to the other breast.

Her legs tightened around him once more and pulled his growing hardness directly against her. He could feel the warmth of her through their clothes as she shifted her hips against his, a soft whimper falling from her lips, and his mouth left her breast to kiss her roughly. He jerked her toward the very edge of the table, his hands working at the laces of her breeches as he pressed himself more firmly against her. Once he got the laces undone he reached behind her and blindly shoved everything from the table, paying no mind to the ink pot and quill that crashed to the ground, and pushed her down firmly.

He pulled at her breeches, forcing her to lift her hips from the table to allow him to rid her of them completely. She looked up at him, her body completely bare to him, and he took a moment to allow himself to appreciate the sight before he dropped to his knees before her and pushed her legs apart to expose her to him completely. He saw her prop herself up slightly to look at him as he pressed kisses along the skin of her thighs but she fell back the moment his tongue touched her, a soft moan leaving her as she did.

He circled his tongue around that little nub that made her grind her hips into him and his hand slipped up to press her down against the table and keep her in place. He finally left that nub to lick long even strips along her cunt before dipping his tongue inside her. He paid close attention the the soft sounds she was making as he worked his mouth against her, determining which movements she enjoyed more, and putting most of his effort into them.

He moved to press a finger into her as he moved back to that nub, the wetness produced from his ministrations making the digit slide in easily, and she moaned loudly. He pulled his mouth away from her for a moment.

"Quiet, they'll hear." He said, prompting her to slap her hand over her mouth as he returned his mouth to her body. Her other hand was curled around the edge of the table, gripping it tightly. 

He added a second finger after a few minutes, pumping them in and out of her quickly as he sealed his lips around that nub and sucked gently, making her hips buck against him as the heals of her feet dug into his shoulders. He curled his fingers inside her as he separated them slightly to ready her for the stretch of him inside her, the muffled moans coming from her encouraging his efforts, and he felt her spasming around his fingers. Her heavy pants let him know that she was close to the edge so he redoubled his efforts and moments later, she clenched tightly around his fingers as her legs tightened around his face. 

Her entire body was tense for a few moments before she seemed to relax completely allowing him to pull away from her and stand once more. She was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling rapidly, and her skin was flushed red. She looked up at him with heavily lidded eyes, giving him a dreamy smile, before she pulled him down to kiss him thoroughly. He knew she could probably taste herself on his lips but she didn't seem to care as she licked into his mouth, her tongue exploring as thoroughly as his had, until she pushed him back slightly to raise up.

Her hands went to his breeches immediately, unlacing them quicker than he thought possible and shoving them down his legs. He kicked them off easily, sucking in a sharp breath as she took him into her hand and attached her lips to the sensitive spot where his neck met his shoulder. She ran her hand along the length of him as she sucked at that spot lightly, sending shocks along his spine and making him brace himself with a hand against the table.

"I want you." She repeated as she pulled back from his neck. "Please."

He nodded and pushed her hand away from him gently before wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her back to the edge of the table, where she'd slid backwards slightly, and pressed himself against her entrance. Their eyes met as he pushed himself inside her and she sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth as she moaned low in her throat. He had to force himself not to take her roughly, remembering in the back of his mind that she was new to sex and he didn't want to hurt her, so he moved his hips slowly.

She dropped her head back and he attached his lips to her neck once more. One hand moved to bury itself in her hair as he tilted her head to the side to give him better access and he ran his tongue along her skin. Her legs around his waist pressed him forward into her with every thrust and finally she put her hands on his face and moved her head to meet his eyes.

"I'm not going to break." She told him breathlessly. "You don't have to be so gentle."

"Are you sure?" He asked, his hips hesitating in their movements for a moment. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I can take it." She said, pressing him into her once more. "I can tell you're holding back. Don't."

He studied her for a moment but he didn't see any doubt or hesitation in her face so he nodded his agreement before kissing her and let go of all his reservations. He snapped his hips forward roughly, burying himself deep inside her with each thrust as their skin slapped together, and her nails dug into his shoulders as she moaned loudly. She pulled out of the kiss to push her face into his neck and muffle the sounds falling from her.

The table was creaking under their movements and he spared a moment to hope that it was built well enough to handle the abuse it was taking before he was distracted by the feel of her teeth in his shoulder. The small spike of pain spurred him on even more and he leaned her back on the table once more causing her hands to leave his shoulders and curl around the edges once more, her knuckles white with the force of her grip, and his hands left her hips to palm her breast.

His eyes were drawn to their joined bodies and he watched as his cock was buried deep inside her over and over, the sight making him groan, and he felt that pressure start building in him sparking him to redouble his efforts to bring her to that edge once more. One of his hands left her breast to trail between them and press against that nub, rubbing circles around it, the thrust of his hips increasing to drive her closer to completion. She let out a high pitched keening sound and his other hand moved subconsciously to press over her lips and block the sounds as her back arched and she clenched tightly around him.

Her eyes clenched closed, her body spasming, and the increased tightness around him made his hips slow as he focused on his own climax.

" _Fuck_." He breathed out, the hand not over her mouth leaving her body as he braced himself against the table. He thrust himself inside her, forcing his hips back into a rhythm, and finally he felt the tightening low in his body. He buried himself deep in her as he reached his peak, spilling himself inside, and a harsh breath left his lips.

He lost himself in the release for a moment and when he came back to himself, Arya was sitting up and running her hands along his shoulders in a comforting gesture. She kissed him softly, a smile coming to her face as she pulled back.

"I love you." She said, echoing her earlier words. He returned the smile, a small laugh leaving his lips.

"I love you too." He returned.

They stayed like that for a moment, smiling stupidly at one another, before he forced himself to pull out of her. He moved away from her on shaky legs to grab a cloth from the other side of the tent, cleaning himself up before bringing it back to her to clean her thighs. They exchanged soft kisses as he drew her away from the table and to the cot in the corner. It was after they'd slid under the furs that he spoke once more.

"We'll speak to Jon tomorrow."


	7. Chapter 7

They woke early to catch Jon before they had to begin again but when they stepped in the tent they found Daenerys already inside with him obviously having been there all night. They all stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments, contemplating whether to address the situation or ignore it, but finally Arya made the decision to just pretend nothing weird was happening. It's not as if she didn't know that Jon and Daenerys were sleeping together so she pushed past it.

"I wanted to talk to you." She said finally, her eyes settling on Jon. "Or rather, _we_ wanted to talk to you."

"Okay." Jon said hesitantly as his eyes flickered between her and Gendry. "What's going on?"

"Well..." Gendry started, coming to stand next to her. The look on his face told her he was about to blurt out that she was with child so she pushed in.

"We want to get married." She said quickly. Jon's mouth popped open slightly as he stared at them and even Daenerys seemed a little taken back by the words.

" _You_ want to get married?" Jon asked seriously, staring at her.

"I do." She said with a nod.

" _We_ do." Gendry added.

"We want to do it before he leaves to go to Storm's End." She added. Jon was looking at them with a furrowed brow as if he was trying to work out a particularly difficult problem in his head.

"We're going to war." Daenerys said gently. "Is this really the best time to be getting married?"

"We want to." Gendry said seriously. "And more than that, we need to."

"You _need_ to?" Jon asked.

"Yes." Arya answered. 

"Why?" Jon asked. "Why do you need to get married now? Why can't it wait until after the war is done?"

Arya could see the cogs in his head turning as he looked at them and she knew Daenerys likely could too because she came to stand next to him and placed a hand on his arm like she thought she'd need to prevent him from doing something.

"Arya is with child." Gendry said in a rush and she gave him a look before her eyes went to Jon once more. His hand was on the hilt of his sword and he was glaring at Gendry, a heat in his eyes that said he wanted to hurt him, making Arya move until she was slightly in front of him.

"You dishonored my sister after we took you into our home and I called you a friend?" Jon growled out and Arya blew out a breath.

"He's still your friend." She said. "He didn't do anything wrong."

"If he didn't do anything wrong, you wouldn't be with child." Jon snapped.

"I never meant for this to happen." Gendry spoke quietly. "But you know I care about her Jon. I'd never do anything to hurt her. I love her."

"You love her?" Jon asked in a loud voice, taking a step toward them. "You treated her like a common whore!"

"He did not!" Arya exclaimed. "You don't know anything about what happened between us Jon, it was my choice. I'm allowed to make that choice on my own."

"Jon." Daenerys spoke his name gently. "They care for one another, I know you can see that."

Jon's eyes flickered between the three of them before settling on her.

"Leave us. I want to speak to my sister alone." He said. Daenerys and Gendry both hesitated for a moment but she gave them a nod of reassurance and they left easily after that.

Jon started pacing the moment the flap of the tent settled while Arya just watched him and waited for whatever he was going to say. She could tell by the tense lines of his body that he was angry, his pacing reminding her of a pacing wolf and the thought almost made her smile. He was a dragon raised by wolves and his mannerisms reflected that. Ghost pushed through the tent flaps, having returned from his hunt, as if he could sense his masters irritation.

"Are you going to speak to me or are you just going to continue to pace in silence?" She said finally and Jon's steps paused as he turned to look at her. There was hesitation on his face but he spoke anyway.

"Is that the truth? That you approached him?" He asked gently. "Because if it isn't, you can tell me and I'll never let him touch you again."

"It's true." She answered, softening at the obvious concern in his gaze. "It was the night before the battle and I'd never done it before. I approached Gendry because he was familiar and safe and I wanted to know what it was like. He'd never hurt me and I knew that."

"Okay." Jon said gently, his voice full of understanding. "But that doesn't mean that you have to marry him. Daenerys would legitimize your child if you only asked her."

"I _want_ to marry him." She said seriously.

"You hated the idea of marrying a high lord when we were younger." He said shaking his head in confusion. "What changed?" 

"I grew up." She said with a small shrug. "And I realized that maybe it wasn't all bad. I thought marrying a high lord would mean giving parts of myself away to appease my husband until there was nothing of _me_ left but with Gendry, it doesn't feel like that, he accepts me for who I am. Marrying him isn't a scary prospect."

"You love him." Jon concluded, studying he face and she nodded.

"I do." She said before meeting his eyes. "Please Jon, let us marry. It's what I want, not just because it would mean our child isn't a bastard, but because I have found the one person that I want to spend my life with. The one person in the world who has seen me at my best and at my worst and still accepts me. You know him, you know he's a good man, so _please_ do this for me."

"Okay." Jon said after a moment. 

"Okay?" She asked and he nodded.

"If this is truly what you want then I'll support you." He said, cradling her face in his hands. "You are my little sister. All I've ever wanted is for you to be happy and if Gendry is what makes you happy, I'll stand by you and allow the union."

"Thank you." She said sincerely. Jon pressed a kiss to her forehead before nodding.

"I'm still not happy about what happened between the two of you but I can move past it for you." He told her.

"So you're not going to kill Gendry?" She asked playfully, breaking the serious atmosphere around them and making Jon huff out a laugh.

"No, I don't think so." He said with a small shrug. "We're going to be family after all. It would be bad form to murder him now."

"Good." She returned. "I like him an awful lot, I'd hate to lose him."

Jon shoved her shoulder playfully, pushing her toward the door of the tent, but they didn't make it very far. Ghost moved over to stand between them, his nose pressing to her stomach gently as his red eyes seemed to stare at her intently, making her think he could sense the babe within her. Jon brushed his hand over the wolf's head easily.

"Can you sense it, boy?" He asked with a soft smile. "The pack is growing."

"The pack survives." Arya said gently, repeating the words her father often spoke.

"Yeah." Jon agreed softly before seeming to shake himself and once again pushing her toward the door. "We should go. We'll need to start marching south again soon and I'm sure Gendry and Daenerys are wondering what happened."

They came out of the tent to find that most of the camp had already been packed up and loaded up to go. The tent they'd been in was hastily being deconstructed as they walked to the large group in the center of the camp, both being handed food to break their fast, and she caught sight of Gendry and Daenerys hovering near the edge. She noticed both of them studying her and Jon intently.

She walked toward them, dragging Jon along with her, and giving them a reassuring smile. She saw the tension leaving Gendry's shoulders in that moment and she wanted so badly to kiss him but she wasn't going to do that where everyone could see so she settled for squeezing his arm lightly when she reached is side. Daenerys raised an eyebrow at both of them.

"So, have you two worked things out?" She asked curiously and Jon shrugged sheepishly.

"We have." He answered.

"And?" Gendry asked, his eyes darting from her to Jon.

"And we'll need to find a heart tree before you have to leave." Jon answered, his eyes narrowing at Gendry. "We're going to have a northern wedding."

"I've never been to a northern wedding." Daenerys said, obviously aware of the tension between the two men. Jon was obviously still angry but at least he hadn't thrown a punch yet. Arya considered that to be a good sign. "Is it much different from a southern one?"

"It's much simpler." Arya shrugged. "But I much prefer it to the southern ceremony. Too much pomp and circumstance for my taste."

"Well, I look forward to it." Daenerys said with a smile.

After that they didn't get much more opportunity to talk as they had to set off. They took a quicker pace that day to make up for the delayed start but Arya didn't mind, the sound of the horses hooves hitting the ground rhythmically and the soft rocking of it's body beneath her allowed her to clear her mind and just take a moment to stop everything. Her mind was blank and her heartbeat was slow and steady, allowing a certain amount of meditation. It felt calming not to think for a while.

* * *

When they stopped to allow the horses a rest, it was much later in the day than they usually would have stopped but she knew they were getting close to leaving the north entirely. The air was warmer here and she could hear the calling of birds and crickets in the woods. The ground was damp and swampy, leading her to deduce easily that they were in the Neck somewhere. She noticed Jon pull Gendry aside the moment they stopped and she hoped that he wasn't saying something stupid or threatening to him.

Sansa moved to stand next to her, drawing her attention away from the men as she studied her sister. Sansa had maintained being a proper lady and wearing her dresses for a fortnight into their journey south but finally she'd admitted defeat and agreed that breeches and a tunic were much easier to ride in. Seeing her sister dressed in such a way, with her hair tied back in a braid and boots on her feet, made Arya feel strangely more connected to her.

They'd always been polar opposites growing up but now they looked like actual sisters. They still looked nothing alike but the clothing, with the wolf sigil stitched into both outfits, made it obvious that they were family. They'd also grown much closer since they'd been reunited than they'd ever been before and the bond shined through in their interactions allowing everyone to see their connection.

"I heard that you were getting married." Sansa said easily and Arya raised an eyebrow.

"Honestly, how did you hear that?" Arya asked, impressed with her sisters ability to find information. "Only four people know about it."

"We share a tent Arya." She answered simply. "Or at least, we're supposed too. Did you think I didn't notice that you weren't there every night? And besides, I know what happened between you and the blacksmith the night before the battle. Nothing in Winterfell happens without me knowing."

"Still, that doesn't automatically mean we're getting married so how'd you figure it out?" Arya asked.

"I noticed Daenerys and Gendry leave Jon's tent earlier, with Gendry looking particularly tense, and then we were delayed in leaving." Sansa shrugged. "After that, I noticed you and Jon leaving the tent together. I connected a few things in my mind and the conclusion was rather obvious."

"You know, you'll be a great political player when you retake your position as Lady of Winterfell when this is over." Arya told her. 

"I know." Sansa shrugged, a smug smile on her face. Arya glanced around them and drew her sister away from the crowd to avoid eavesdroppers, making the decision in the moment to trust her with the entire truth. Sansa was watching her with curiosity as they stepped into the trees enough to hide them away slightly.

"I want to tell you something and I need you not to react badly about it." She said quietly and Sansa nodded. 

"I promise." Sansa said easily.

"I'm with child." She said and she noticed Sansa's eyes go wide. "Gendry and I love each other but the reason we're getting married so soon is because of the babe."

Sansa didn't say anything for a long time as she continued to stare at Arya with wide eyes. She seemed to be studying her even in her shock and and finally she shook her head as if to dispel the emotion before she began chewing on her lip. Finally she looked at Arya with something close to hesitation on her face.

"What's it like?" She asked softly and Arya stared at her with furrowed brows.

"What?" She asked, the question from her sister not being what she expected. Sansa's cheeks went red.

"Being with a man just because you want to." She clarified. "What's it like?"

Arya wanted to bring Ramsey Bolton back from the dead just to kill him again in that moment. The thought that her sister only knew sex as a painful and horrible experience made her equal parts angry and sad.

"It's amazing." She said gently. "Being with someone you trust, showing them every part of you and having them do the same back, it's magnificent."

"I wish....." Sansa trailed off with a sigh. 

"What?" Arya asked.

"I wish I knew what it was like." She admitted. "I wish I knew what it felt like when it was my choice."

"You could find out." Arya suggested gently. "If you were comfortable with it."

"Right." Sansa scoffed. "Who would want to be with me? I'm damaged and used. I'm not good enough."

"Don't ever say that." Arya said angrily, grabbing Sansa's face in her hands. "You are beautiful and amazing and anyone would be lucky to have you. You're not damaged or used, you are a survivor. You deserve to know what it's like to be with someone when you've chosen it for yourself, to know the pleasure that can come with it. You deserve to be loved Sansa."

"Really?" Sansa asked, her voice still not convinced even as the tears pooled in her eyes.

"Really." Arya said seriously before she smiled at her sister. "And I think I know someone who'd gladly help you figure that out if only you'd ask."

"Who?" Sansa asked, sniffling lightly.

"Podrick Payne." Arya said immediately and Sansa flushed an even brighter shade of red.

"Arya!" She exclaimed, her voice sounding scandalized but it made the tears leave her eyes which Arya was thankful for. "He's a squire!"

"He's a knight." Arya corrected. "And he looks at you like you hung the moon, I'm certain he'd be willing to do whatever you asked him if only you'd allow him too."

"He doesn't look at me like that." She said and Arya raised an eyebrow. 

"He does." She insisted. "I'm honestly surprised you haven't noticed. And I've heard rumors that he's quite skilled in the bed chambers, I'm sure you would not be disappointed."

"This conversation is wholly inappropriate." Sansa said, but Arya could see her thinking through her words.

"Just something to think about." She shrugged, dragging her sister back toward the group. "After all, since I'm never in our tent anyway there is nothing to dissuade you from doing as you please and no one need know about it."

She left her sister next to her horse with a smirk, her eyes flickering briefly toward Brienne who was standing close by with Podrick next to her and she noticed Sansa steadfastly trying to avoid looking in their direction. She had a feeling her sister's cheeks would be perpetually red now every time she so much as glanced at the man and she hoped that Sansa would take her advise. She wanted her sister to know what it was like to enjoy a sexual encounter, she deserved it after everything she'd been through.

They spent the rest of the day passing through the Neck, finally making it out of the north as night fell upon them, and while the camp was being set up Jon sent out scouts to find a heart tree. He announced that they'd be taking a pause in their travels the next day for the wedding and everyone seemed in high spirits as they congratulated her and Gendry, with no one even questioning why the marriage was taking place during the march south to war, which she was thankful for. She was glad that everyone seemed to support the union with no questions asked and she found that she couldn't wait until the next day. Marrying Gendry felt like the most right thing she'd done since returning to Westeros.


	8. Chapter 8

Jon was still not to pleased about the news of Arya's pregnancy, mainly because he didn't like the fact that she wasn't married when it happened, but he hadn't addressed it further which Gendry thought was a good sign. It had been decided that the wedding would take place after the sun set so the men who weren't sent out to find a heart tree took the chance to go out and hunt for fresh meat rather than settling for the provisions they'd brought along with them. There were still many men who'd stayed behind to guard the camp, along with some of the women. Daenerys was practically floating around the camp as she checked up on people and he could tell that many of the northmen who'd been wary of her at first were now warming up to her as they all spent more time together. Gendry thought she'd make a good ruler because she seemed to actually care about the people around her which he hadn't seen in a lot of lords and ladies throughout his life.

He hadn't seen Arya since early that morning when she'd woken him as she left his tent but he knew she was with her sister. She'd mentioned something about Sansa and cloaks, which even being lowborn he knew were important, so he wasn't worried about her. In lieu of anything else to do, he sat down on an old tree stump and began to polish his war hammer. Many of the men seemed to be wary of his weapon of choice and he knew it was likely because they'd fought with him already and had seen what he could do with it. He didn't mind that some of them seemed to avoid him as he'd never been all that good with people in the first place but he was even more relieved that none of them mentioned his bastard status. He knew since the legitimization that he was technically no longer a bastard but he also knew that some people wouldn't care about that fact. He suspected that none of them mentioned it because they'd all chosen to follow Jon, who was another bastard, and it would be a bit hypocritical of them to have an issue with bastards now. 

Davos joined him after a while, standing next to him as he looked out at the other soldiers, and Gendry finally sat his hammer to the side and looked at the older man with a raised eyebrow.

"You need something?" He asked and Davos shrugged.

"I just wanted to offer my congratulations." He said easily. "For your upcoming marriage."

"Thanks." Gendry said hesitantly. Davos had a look on his face that told him that the words coming from his mouth weren't the only ones he wanted to say.

"It does make me wonder though." Davos said, finally turning to look at him. "Why now? Why not wait?"

"I love her." Gendry said, forcing his voice to be even and nonchalant.

"I know that but love can wait. If it was just about that, I have no doubt that the two of you would have waited until the war was over." Davos said. "That leads me to believe that I was right."

"Right about what?" Gendry said, pointedly looking away from the man.

"That you were inappropriate with Lady Arya." Davos said plainly and Gendry shrugged.

"Maybe we just want to get married before we head straight into another war where either of us could die." Gendry said and Davos gave him a look.

"I'm not stupid, lad." He said. "I may have been busy advising Jon before the battle in Winterfell but I still noticed Lady Arya spending quiet a bit of time in and around the forge."

"It was her forge, in her family's castle." Gendry said, still avoiding the man's gaze. 

"Uh huh." Davos said, voice unconvinced. "I'm not trying to scold you. You're already marrying her so I suppose whatever happened, or didn't happen, between the two of you then doesn't matter now but your marriage is significant. It won't just make her your wife, it will make her the Lady of Storm's End when this is all over and given that you've asked me to be your advisor, I do need to know certain things so that I may do my job properly."

"You're right." Gendry sighed quietly. "You do need to know certain things and I'll do my best to keep you informed of them. I do want to thank you for your help, you didn't have to agree to help me with all of this but I'm glad you did."

"It's really no problem. I've been serving the Baratheon family for many years, I'm happy to be doing it even now." Davos said, clapping him on the shoulder. "I will try to keep the gossip to a minimum from here on out."

"Gossip?" Gendry asked. 

"You didn't think I was the only one to notice the timing of your marriage did you?" Davos asked. "The entire procession has been paused for it and people talk when they have nothing else to do."

"What are they saying?" Gendry asked.

"Some think it's a political marriage arranged by Jon and Daenerys, since you are her last living kin, to join the Starks with her in more than just spoken agreement." Davos said. "Others, after learning of your shared history, are saying that Lady Arya demanded for the two of you to be allowed to marry now that you're a lord and not just a lowborn blacksmith because the two of you are in love and that she refused to march further until it happened. Still more are saying the marriage is happening now because Lady Arya is with child and her brother would rather she marry than be shamed for it."

"The men are saying that?" Gendry asked, trying to keep from giving anything away.

"Some of them." Davos said, studying his face. "Most of the soldiers are refusing to speak of it at all, saying that it's not their business and that they won't slander their Lady with gossip. None of it is dangerous gossip, I don't think, just entertainment in lieu of anything else. My question is, which rumor has the truth of it?"

"How do you know any of them are the truth?" Gendry asked. 

"I've learned that many rumors have a shred of truth to them. The problem is separating fact from fiction in the words." Davos said and Gendry blew out a breath. He glanced around to make sure that no one was close enough to overhear before he turned to look at Davos seriously.

"You're meant to be my advisor so I know I can trust you." He said quietly. "You're right, there is some fact to the rumors, or at least to one of them. Arya is with child, we didn't mean for it to happen but it did. That's the reason for the marriage happening so soon. We're hoping that people will believe that the child was conceived in the marriage bed."

"Right then." Davos nodded determinedly. "I'll make sure that the rumors regarding that particular thought are put to rest."

"How are you going to do that?" Gendry asked.

"By making them believe one of the others." He answered immediately. "The idea of it being a political marriage alliance is the one that will be most likely to be believed, so that's what I'll go for. Say it loud enough, to enough people, and it will begin to sound like the truth."

"If you say so." Gendry shrugged. He wasn't really sure that was true but Davos had been around lords and ladies for much longer than he had so he couldn't exactly argue. He knew that Arya likely wouldn't care about the rumors if she heard them so he forced himself not to worry about them too much. Even if people did believe that he'd dishonored Arya and the child had been conceived out of wedlock, they'd have no way to prove it so he didn't think it really mattered now.

The fact that he was getting married that night seemed almost unbelievable and the fact that it was _Arya_ he was marrying made it even more so. He remembered Arya as a stubborn little girl who insisted she wasn't a lady and that she'd never marry so the fact that she'd agreed to, and even suggested, the idea was strange to him. He supposed that they'd both grown in the years they'd been apart, in different ways, and he was thankful that she even wanted to marry him. It amazed him how much they still complimented each other, despite the changes, and it made him almost believe in the existence of the Gods. Nothing else in his mind could explain how they'd found their way back to each other and fell together so easily.

He'd gone back to polishing his hammer after Davos had left his side but when the men in the camp became tense, he immediately noticed and stood from the stump quickly, making his way to where Jon was standing with Daenerys. His hammer was tight in his grip, his eyes trained on the movement in the trees, waiting for the people to break through into the camp. The first man who broke through the trees was tall and thin with light brown hair and it was obvious from his face that he was older. There was a girl next to him with dark, curly hair pushed back from her face and she looked enough like the man for him to deduce that they were family. The third person, who broke through the trees directly behind them, was carrying a banner with a sigil. 

It wasn't one that Gendry recognized but Jon seemed to calm down upon seeing it so he figured that knowing it wasn't that important as they were obviously allies. Daenerys seemed to notice Jon relaxing as well because she looked at him with curious eyes as the other northmen moved aside to allow the newcomers to walk up to him. Jon held out his hand and the tall man reached out to grasp it.

"I'm Howland Reed." The man spoke. "I was good friends with Ned Stark when he was alive. This is my daughter Meera, who helped Bran Stark beyond the Wall and brought him back to Winterfell."

"Well met, Lord Reed." Jon said before moving back to stand next to Daenerys. "This is Daenerys Stormborn, of House Targaryen. Queen of the Andals, the Rhyoner, and the First Men. The Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons."

Gendry knew she had many more titles in addition to those ones but she didn't seem to mind that Jon had left them out as she stepped forward to greet Howland Reed.

"You Grace." He greeted, tilting his head respectfully. "We noticed your army marching through the Neck. We watched from the marshes to make sure that you made it safely through before we decided to come and greet you and to offer our men to support you. We saw the Stark banners flying. House Reed has stood with House Stark for thousands of years and we will continue to do so."

"I thank you for your support." Daenerys said pleasantly. The girl next to him, Meera, was surveying the camp and seemed to be looking for something intently.

"Bran remains in Winterfell." Jon said, seeming to have also noticed her gaze and her eyes snapped to him. "I assume that's who you're looking far as you father mentioned you know him."

"He's alright?" She asked immediately.

"Yes." Jon nodded. "He becomes more like himself everyday."

"Good." She breathed out. "That's good."

Gendry knew the look on her face intimately, especially after all the wars he'd witnessed. It was the look of relief people always seemed to get when they were assured that the person the loved was safe from harm and he knew that whatever had happened beyond the Wall, or whatever it was that meant Meera wasn't at Winterfell during the battle, she still loved Bran. Gendry didn't really know Bran, aside from the creepy boy who's stare felt like it pierced to your very soul, but he knew that he'd been different once and he hoped, both for Meera and Bran's siblings, that he'd get that back.

* * *

The Reeds were welcomed into the camp, their men joining not long after they'd arrived themselves, and Arya finally left Sansa's tent to join them. She sat next to him and he noticed Ghost immediately leave Jon's side to trot over to her. He seemed to eye everyone sitting close to her as if he was looking for a threat before he finally plopped his head into her lap and she smiled as she ran her hands through his fur.

Gendry found Ghost's behavior strange because he was almost always at Jon's side but after a moment he noticed the wolf nuzzling her belly lightly and he got the sense that he knew. He wondered for a moment if he'd have to worry about Ghost eating him because he knew that Jon was still irritated about the whole situation even if he'd agreed to the marriage and his wolf was obviously connected to him. Arya noticed him eyeing the wolf distrustfully and grinned at him as she grabbed his hand and jerked it over to stroke Ghost before he could even process her movement.

He froze for a moment, his hand unmoving, as the wolf lifted it's head and stared at him with those red eyes, assessing him. He didn't look away and after a tense few seconds, Ghost seemed to deem him safe because he settled back against Arya and Gendry took the moment to rub his head gently.

"You don't have to be afraid of him." Arya said quietly. "You're pack, he knows that."

"Pack?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Yeah. Pack, family, it's all the same." She said easily before she glance down at her belly for a moment. "He also knows about this."

"How?" Gendry wondered.

"Direwolves are very intelligent creatures." Arya said with a shrug. "Plus, I think he can smell it. It's how he knows you're pack, because he can smell you on me."

Gendry's eyes darted around for a moment but everyone was caught up in their own conversations and not paying attention to them at all.

"Where's your direwolf?" He asked. "I know you used to talk about having one. Nymeria, I think you called her."

"She's in the Riverlands somewhere." Arya said with a shrug. "We were at the Crossroads Inn when she bit Joffery and I had to send her away. Sansa's direwolf was killed there."

"Why did she bite Joffery?" He asked.

"He was hurting my friend so I hit him with a stick. He got angry and pointed his sword at me before he threatened to kill me. Nymeria was only trying to protect me." She told him. He felt a moment of happiness that Joffery was dead.

"How do you know that she's still in the Riverlands. She could have gone North." He asked and Arya bit her lip.

"She didn't." She said, sounding sure. "I know because sometimes I dream of her. I see through her eyes, feel what she does, I know where she is. Bran told me I have the same gift as he does, Warging. Jon does too, but he doesn't use it as much, he fights against it."

"And Sansa?" Gendry asked, trying to process what she was telling him. 

"I don't think she can." Arya shrugged. "At least not anymore. She might have been able to, I'm not sure, but her direwolf died before she had a chance to solidify the connection."

"So you can see through the eyes of animals?" He asked quietly.

"Not all of them. I can warg into cats, I did it in Braavos once, though I didn't know what I was doing then. And I've only ever warged Nymeria when I'm sleeping but the connection to her is stronger so I think I could do it when I was awake if I tried." She said before she looked at him with a serious expression. "That doesn't bother you, does it? The things I can do?"

"No, Arya." He assured her. The things she could do were strange and magical but he didn't want her to think that any of it would make his feelings for her waver or change. "I love you and nothing will ever change that. This is just another part of you, a strange and unusual part, but that's not so bad. I don't mind a little strangeness."

She smiled and then, to his surprise, she leaned over and kissed him. When she pulled back, he was almost certain that his eyes were wider than normal as he took in the people who were looking at them. He figured that since it had been announced that they were getting married that she had decided to stop hiding, no one could say anything about propriety anymore anyways, and he found that he didn't mind. In fact, he loved that he could kiss her in front of other people now. He loved that people would know that she belonged to him and he belonged to her until the end of their days.


	9. Chapter 9

Arya had wondered about having appropriate cloaks for the wedding on such sort notice but Sansa had began working on them the moment the procession had stopped the night before and Arya had been thoroughly surprised when she'd gone to meet her sister that morning because she'd had them almost complete. She'd found a grey cloak and a yellow cloak somewhere and had stitched the respective sigils onto them, making Arya put the maidencloak on the moment she'd come into the tent in case she needed to make adjustments, but they'd turned out better than Arya had expected. Sansa had fretted for a moment, saying that they would have been far better if she'd had more time, until Arya assured her that they were fine.

Sansa had even dug one of her dresses out and insisted that Arya put it on so she could make the necessary alterations. Arya had tried to insist that she could just wear her breeches and tunic instead of the dress but Sansa wouldn't budge on the matter and she'd eventually had to let her have her way. She had to admit that the dress was actually not that bad. It was a soft grey color that was a little lighter than the cloak and already had direwolves embroidered on the sleeves so it was a good choice for the short amount of time they had to get ready for the wedding. All Sansa had to do was lift the hem so it fit her shorter frame and take in the top of the dress so it hugged her body more. 

As the sun fell behind the trees, Arya found herself corralled into her sisters tent with women surrounding her. She hadn't really given much thought to the other women who were travelling in the army with them but now, she found that she didn't actually mind their company. Sansa was messing with her hair as Daenerys and Gilly pulled at her clothing until they got it to sit on her body in a way they found satisfactory. Brienne was standing by the entrance making sure that no one came in while she was getting ready as she wasn't partaking in the merriment but the smile on her face was enough to let Arya know that she was happy for her.

"Are you ready for this?" Daenerys asked.

"Absolutely." She answered. "I love him."

"He is very handsome." Gilly put in, causing Arya to grin.

"Yeah. He always has been." She told them.

"Really. Even when you were children?" Sansa asked.

"Oh, definitely." Arya said. "We were always dirty from sleeping on the ground and he was always covered in soot from the forge but he was still handsome. I did occasionally admire his form, especially since he took his tunic off when he was forging sometimes."

"He did?" Daenerys raised an eyebrow. "That seems a bit dangerous."

"Perhaps." She shrugged. "But I appreciated it anyway."

"So what? You'd just sit around the forge and watch him?" Sansa asked.

"Sometimes." She admitted.

"I bet you were smitten." Gilly said.

"That's probably true." Arya nodded. "Though I'd never have admitted it back then."

"Plus, those eyes of his are truly remarkable." Sansa said.

"They really are." Arya said and she was aware of the almost dreamy quality of her voice that made the other girls giggle.

Arya found that she liked the company of the women around her. She was so used to being surrounded by boys, or grown men, or people that she could never speak freely in front of, that it was nice to be able to just let her guard down. She'd never liked the gossiping and giggling of the girls around her when she was growing up because it reminded her of the teasing she got so she'd brushed it off and rebelled against it but she was finding that, now that she was older and not fighting it, it was actually sort of pleasant. She wondered for a moment if she was just forcing herself to play along and putting on a face for them without meaning to before realizing that it didn't feel that way. She was honestly just enjoying their company which was more surprising to her than anything else.

The longer she was around all of them, the more comfortable she became, and that wall she'd built in her mind felt like it was crumbling. Her training was still in place, she could still do all the things she could before, could still tell a lie and read one on someone else, but she was finding that she didn't want to use it here with them. She'd spent so long trying to get back to her family and now that she had she didn't feel the need to hide behind a mask anymore. The feeling of genuine caring and friendship that radiated around them in the tent made her feel as if she didn't need to use her training here, she was safe with these people, truly safe, for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. The thought made her happy.

It was moments after Sansa had finished with her hair that Jon appeared in the entrance of the tent and Arya could see the darkness behind him indicating that it was time for the wedding. The men who'd been sent out to find a heart tree had found one not far into the forest from where they'd set up camp so she knew that it wouldn't take long for them to reach it. The women around her left the tent to make their way to the heart tree and take their places, leaving Jon and Arya alone together.

"You're sure about this?" He asked quietly, taking her arm in his.

"I'm sure." She answered. He nodded firmly.

"Okay then." He said before leading her out of the tent. She caught a glimpse of a few of the soldiers standing around the camp who she knew were on watch duty but no one else seemed to be around and she figured that they were at the heart tree to watch the ceremony. The thought of so many people being crowded around to watch her get married was a bit nerve wracking but she tried to push it from her mind. Jon leaned over as they entered the trees. "You look beautiful, by the way."

"Thank you." She said sincerely, her cheeks flushing. Jon gave her a gentle smile.

"Father would have approved." He said. "Of Gendry."

"Do you?" She asked quietly.

"I do." He said, honesty plain in his voice. "I don't like the circumstances but Gendry is a good man. I know that he'll take care of you, not that you need it, and he'll let you be who you are. I couldn't ask for a better man for my little sister."

"Thank you for doing this." She told him. "For allowing us to get married."

"As if you wouldn't have done it anyway if I'd have said no." He teased and she rolled her eyes. 

"Yes, but it's nice to have your approval." She said. 

"You're welcome." He said finally.

The both fell quiet when they began to hear the murmurs of people, alerting them to the fact that they were getting close, and she took a deep breath to calm herself. As they walked a bit farther, she saw the lamps that had been set up along the path to light the way and moments later they broke through the trees. The group fell silent as they noticed her and Jon and she felt him squeeze her arm reassuringly as they began to make their way toward the heart tree.

Arya noticed that Sansa and Daenerys had taken places close to the front of the group and they both smiled at her as her eyes passed over them. Finally, her eyes settled on Gendry, standing close to Davos in front of the heart tree and her mind went blank for a second as she realized this was actually happening. She was getting _married_ to a _high lord,_ the thing she'd fought against all through her childhood and told her father she'd never do, and now here she was going into it voluntarily and it highlighted just how much had changed in only a few short years. 

When they finally made it to the heart tree, Gendry smiled at her and she she could see the genuine happiness on his face as his eyes shined with love. She knew that her face had to have an equally soft look on it but she couldn't bring herself to care how vulnerable it made her seem. She loved him and she wasn't going to hide it away anymore.

"Who comes before the Gods this night?" Davos asked, his voice ringing out clearly.

"Arya of House Stark comes here to be wed, a woman grown and flowered, true born and noble, she comes to beg the blessings of the Gods." Jon spoke next. "Who comes to claim her?"

"I, Gendry of House Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End. Who gives her?" Gendry spoke the words she knew had only been taught to him earlier that day as if he'd known them all his life, not stumbling even once.

"Her brother, Jon of House Stark." Jon answered. Davos turned to look at her, a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.

"Do you take this man?" He asked.

"I take this man." She confirmed.

Gendry reached out immediately and she took his hand. The moved together to kneel in front of the heart tree and ask the blessings of the Gods on their union. She wasn't sure that Gendry even believed in the Gods but she found that her faith hadn't been shaken by the years away so she swore her loyalty and love to him before them. She felt a sense of calm come over her and smiled to herself. She wondered for a moment if Bran could see them right now, she figured that he probably could.

"Rise now." Davos' soft voice pulled them away and they rose to their feet. "Bring the bride under your protection."

Arya noticed Gendry staring at her intently for a moment before he shook his head and reached out to brush his thumb over her cheek.

"I will not take her cloak." He said, his voice clear. "I have wed a Stark and I shall not strip her of who she is. I love and respect her for who she is, so I will lay my cloak over hers to bring her under my protection. I will swear now to never force her to relinquish her name or identity. She will be a Stark and a Baratheon both."

He laid his cloak over her shoulders before he drew her into him to place a kiss on her lips. The kiss wasn't really necessary for the marriage but she didn't really mind all that much. She could hear the cheers around them but neither of them took note of it as they separated, smiling at each other happily.

"Thank you." She breathed out, low enough that only Gendry would be able to hear her. "For never asking me to be what I'm not."

"You don't have to thank me for that." Gendry returned. "If you were anything else than who you really are, you wouldn't be the person I fell in love with."

* * *

The celebrations lasted long into the night and Arya knew that the men were just happy to have a reason to celebrate and didn't actually care too much about why they were celebrating. Someone had brought out the ale and the men had gotten much more rowdy, though she knew they'd all be regretting it come morning when they had to begin the journey south once more, and she could see that Jon was well on his way to being drunk.

Despite it being their wedding that was the cause for celebration, no one was really paying them any mind which Arya thought was actually a good thing. At least she wouldn't have to worry about someone calling for the bedding ceremony. She noticed Sansa talking to Podrick quietly a few feet away from the other men and she hoped that her sister took her advice as tonight would likely be the best opportunity for it. Jon would definitely not notice if she sneaked off with him and the other men likely wouldn't either, and even Brienne had been drawn into the drinking so she wasn't paying extra close attention to them either.

She turned away from her sister to look at Gendry, who was watching the men around them with a smile, and she grabbed his hand before standing. He followed her lead, his eyes leaving the group immediately to settle on her, and she began pulling him away. No one noticed their departure, which had been her hope, as she pulled him behind her to his tent.

"Won't they wonder where we've gone?" Gendry asked as they stepped inside.

"I doubt it. They're all drunk, and even if they did happen to take note of our absence they probably won't come looking for us." She said as she shed the cloaks that were laid over her shoulders. "They know we have to consummate the marriage."

"Right." He said awkwardly as he glanced over his shoulder at the entrance of the tent. "You're sure they won't come looking for us?"

"I'm sure." She said, moving toward him. "And if they do, we're not doing anything wrong. You're my husband."

"I'm your husband." He said, his voice astonished as he finally reached out for her. "You're my wife. We're _married_."

"Yes, we are." She said with a smile. 

"You know, we fought the literal dead and this is still more unbelievable to me." He said softly, cupping her face in his hands. "You're mine, for the rest of our days. I feel like it's a dream I'm going to wake up from and you'll be gone again."

"It's not a dream." She said, placing soft kisses over his face as she spoke. "I'm here, I'm yours. Forever."

He tilted her face and claimed her lips with his own, deepening the kiss as he worked at the laces on the back of her dress, and she returned it eagerly. He got the laces undone faster than she expected and pulled at the fabric until it slipped off her shoulders and his lips left hers to explore the exposed skin. His hands worked to get the dress off of her completely and she helped by slipping her arms from the sleeves and letting it slide down to the floor, leaving her in just her smallclothes as she stepped out of it and pushed it away with her foot.

"I love you." He breathed out as his eyes trailed over her body. 

"I love you too." She said as he pulled her close to him once more, kissing her softly, before his mouth went back to her skin.

She pushed at the leather jerkin on his shoulders, her movements frantic and heated as he sucked a mark into her collarbone, until it fell to the floor. She forced him to move his mouth away from her long enough to yank his tunic off and drop it to the floor so she could allow her hands to explore his muscled body. She pushed him back onto the cot, the movement reminiscent of the first time they'd lain together, and he grinned up at her obviously remembering just as she was.

She raised an eyebrow at him, not even having to utter the words before he was yanking at the laces of his breeches, and she pulled her smallcothes off her body leaving her completely bare. He managed to shove his breeches off and kick them away along with his boots before he sat up and pulled her to him. She put a knee on either side of his hips and leaned down to kiss him hard before she trailed her lips down his neck. 

She felt his cock brush against her cunt and her belly clenched as a rush of heat went through her. She was wet enough that when she rocked her hips against him, he slipped against her easily and she teased him as she sucked on the spot just behind his ear that made him let out a soft needy sound. She liked knowing that she was in control and that he'd let her do whatever she wanted to him without complaint. 

She felt his hands on her hips, steadying her movements, and she kissed him roughly. He wasn't trying to force her or take his own pleasure like another man would, instead he was allowing her to go at her own pace, and it made her love him more. She shifted her hips and moved her hand between them to position him at her entrance before she pulled out of the kiss. Their eyes met as she sank down onto him and she moaned softly at the feel of him deep inside her.

He jerked his hips as she rolled hers against him and ripples of pleasure rolled through her. She braced her hands against his chest as she bounced on his lap, her head falling back as she moaned, and his hands left her hips to slide up her body and grip her breasts. His rough fingertips brushing against her sensitive nipples sent tingles down her spine, straight to her core, and her breath came on heavy pants.

He sat up, the movement surprising her enough to make her pause, and his tongue replaced his hands. She made a soft sound in her throat as he sucked lightly and her hand made it's way into his hair as she sucked her lip in between her teeth trying to muffle the sound falling from her mouth. She rocked her hips against him as he spent a few minutes going back and forth between her breasts until he finally pulled away to kiss her. The kiss was sloppy, full of teeth and tongues and spit, as he jerked his hips against her again. She broke off the kiss with a gasp of pleasure that morphed into a moan and her fingernails dug into his shoulders.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and flipped them suddenly so she was laying on her back and he was hovering over her. He looked down at her, his eyes full of heat as he breathed heavily.

"This alright?" He asked quietly, holding himself completely still even while still buried deep inside her.

"Yes." She said, wrapping her legs tightly around him. "Fuck me." 

He nodded and pulled back until his cock almost slipped out before slamming his hips back into her and she gasped out a moan. He braced himself with one hand beside her head while the other one went back to her hip to keep her in place before he continued. He thrust forward roughly, each movement causing the cot under them to bounce, and her hands gripped his shoulders hard. 

Their skin slapped together with every movement and she could feel him sink deep with each thrust, hitting a spot deep inside her that she didn't even know was there sending shock waves of pleasure through her, and she was distantly aware that the volume of her moans were increasing but she couldn't bring herself to care about who might hear. Their bodies quickly became covered in a thin layer of sweat, making their skin slide against one another and she tightened her grip on his shoulders, but he didn't complain. He was making soft grunting noises with each thrust which she found incredibly attractive for some reason and before long she felt that pleasure building inside her.

She made a low keening noise as her nails dug into his skin and her hands slipped slightly, she knew he'd have scratches in the morning. He seemed to realize that she was getting close to the edge because he redoubled his efforts, his hips jerking faster against hers, until he hit that spot deep inside her at just the right time and stars exploded behind her eyes. She clenched tight around him as she cried out in pleasure and she felt his movements falter for a moment as he hissed quietly before he regained his rhythm. 

When her eyes fluttered open, her vision was a little blurry at the edges and her body was still shaking with the aftershocks of pleasure. Gendry was still moving inside her but his thrusts had slowed and his eyes were closed, his brow furrowed as he concentrated on finding his own release. His movements were still sending sparks of pleasure through her and she urged him on gently with her legs, still wrapped around him, as she pulled him down to her for a kiss. She clenched around him again, running her hands along his body, until he finally thrust himself deep inside her and breathed out harshly as he released.

They stayed in that position for a full minute before he pulled out of her and moved to fall on the cot next to her. She ran her fingers through his hair as they caught their breath and the sweat cooled on their bodies. The ache between her legs let her know that she'd probably be sore tomorrow but she didn't mind, the pleasure they'd just shared was worth it.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked after a time and she turned to look at him.

"No." She told him honestly.

"Are you sure?" He asked, concern lacing his words. "I know I was a bit rough."

"I'm fine." She said, kissing him softly. "It was actually kind of amazing."

"Yeah?" He asked, concern leaving his face as it was replaced with a cocky look and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah." She said, rolling her eyes. "Don't let it go to your head."

"I'll try not to." He teased. "But it is quiet the accomplishment."

"You're an idiot." She said, the words to full of affection to be an insult. "Let's go to sleep. We've got a long day tomorrow."

"As you wish, m'lady." He said, causing her to roll her eyes again but she didn't say anything back. Instead she rolled over and pulled his arm around her as he buried his nose in her hair. They both fell asleep with smiles on their faces, having found a small measure of happiness in the middle of a war.


	10. Chapter 10

Getting going the next morning took some time on account of many of the men being either still drunk or horrendously hung over but they did eventually get back on the march once more. Gendry knew that they'd be far enough into the Riverlands to meet up with the Tully and Arryn forces by late the next evening and it reminded him immediately that he'd be expected to continue South with only Davos and a small retinue of men after that. He was nervous about going to the Riverlands, knowing that they may not accept his legitimization, but he was determined to earn their support. He'd never been one to pick sides in the wars of the highborn but this time he knew that backing Daenerys was the right thing to do.

He was also determined to speak to Jon before he left as he could tell that the man was still irritated with him even if he tried not to show it and he wanted to make it right. He knew why Jon was irritated, Arya was his little sister and he was protective of her, but he was still his friend and that compelled him to attempt to fix the rift between them. The perfect opportunity came when they stopped for a break at mid-day and Jon left the main group to step into the trees around them. Gendry followed after him, taking the opportunity to get him alone, knowing that Ghost was with Arya and not likely to eat him anytime soon.

He found him only a few paces into the trees, filling up his wineskin from the small stream, and he moved up next to him as he stood. Jon looked at him with a raised eyebrow at him.

"I didn't mean to disrespect her that night." He started, knowing Jon would understand what he was talking about without him having to clarify it.

"You took her maidenhead when you weren't married." Jon snapped and Gendry sighed.

"It wasn't like that." He said immediately. "I know that you know that."

"What was it like then?" Jon said, letting Gendry know that he was still going to be difficult about it.

"She asked me, Jon." He said. "I never would have touched her if she hadn't. I love her, I've told you that, and I would never do anything to disrespect her. If the circumstances had been different, I probably would have tried to stop her, but we thought we were going to die and I thought, for just that moment, that we had nothing to lose. But then we lived and it brought all of the emotions to the surface again, everything I'd felt for her back when we were young came rushing back, only this time I understood what the feelings meant."

"Do you even really know her?" Jon asked suddenly. "She's not the same little girl that you knew back then."

"She's not the same little girl you knew either Jon." Gendry reminded him firmly. "I know you're her brother and you feel like it's your job to protect her but she doesn't need it, especially not from me. I know that you don't like the fact that I laid with her and got a child on her before we married but I'll remind you that she's not a little girl anymore. She can make her own choices, as she did that night, without input from you. You and I became friends beyond the Wall and I don't want this to damage that but seriously, you need to let it go."

"We became friends?" Jon asked, his voice laced with contempt. "You lied to me."

"I never lied to you." Gendry protested. "I told you who my father was freely. Just because I didn't mention that I knew your sister doesn't make me a liar and I've already explained to you why I didn't mention her in the first place. I thought you understood."

"I understand that you thought she was dead so you didn't mention it." Jon said, looking at him seriously. "What I don't understand is why you wouldn't tell me about what happened between the two of you before the battle. If she hadn't gotten pregnant, would you have even married her, or would you just have left her because you got what you wanted?"

"I never would have left her, not unless she asked me too. That's what it means to love someone, Jon." Gendry said, his voice low and serious. 

"Maybe you'd have figured out that you weren't actually in love with her since you'd already managed to have sex with her without it." Jon said, crossing his arms and Gendry shook his head immediately.

"That never would have happened. Ever since we were children, she's always lived inside my heart. That's not likely to ever change, she's embedded in my very blood at this point." He said, meeting Jon's eyes easily. "I know that you care about her and you're only trying to make sure that she's safe and happy but you don't have to worry. I'll look after her, as much as she'll let me, for the rest of our lives. You can trust me with her Jon, I promise."

Jon stared at him with pursed lips for a moment before he blew out a long breath and nodded.

"Okay." He said finally. "You're right, she's not a child, she can take care of herself and make her own choices. She chose you and I have to trust that both of you have thought it through. I'll let it go."

"Thank you." Gendry said.

"Take care of her." Jon said softly.

"Always." Gendry assured him.

When they left the trees to rejoin the others, Gendry felt like a weight had been lifted. He felt like Jon had finally truly accepted his relationship with Arya and everything that had happened between them which was a huge relief. He felt content knowing that they had worked things out and maintained their friendship through it.

* * *

The march was slow going with many of the men complaining of headaches or stopping to empty their stomachs into the bushes and seeing it all made Gendry thankful that he hadn't partaken in the drinking the night before. Even Jon seemed to be flagging a little as he led the procession alongside Daenerys and Gendry caught Arya smirking at her brother more than once, obviously enjoying his predicament, as she rode alongside Sansa. 

The men were happy when they finally stopped for the night a few hours later and most of them retired to their tents almost immediately leaving the camp quieter than it had been in the last few weeks. The only people left sitting around the fire were him, Arya, Sansa, Podrick, Daenerys, and Davos but none of them were really speaking either so the atmosphere around them was a little awkward. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, Davos cleared his throat.

"I imagine that the men will think better next time and not indulge quite so much with the drink." He said, breaking the silence and the tension between all of them. Daenerys laughed quietly.

"I warned Jon not to drink so much last night." She said. "Perhaps next time he'll listen. He didn't have a particularly nice time today."

"Men can be a little stupid." Arya said. "Not a single one of them thought about the fact that we'd have to start marching south again when they began drinking last night."

"Did you not indulge, My Lady?" Davos asked. "It was your wedding after all."

"I had better uses for my time last night than drinking Ser." She said and Gendry felt himself going red as she smirked at him.

"Right, well." He cleared his throat and turned to Podrick in an attempt to remove the attention from himself. "Didn't you have a drink last night Pod?"

"Oh, um..." His eyes got wide as he glanced around the circle.

"He was guarding me last night." Sansa said and Gendry was almost certain that she was blushing but he couldn't be sure in the low light. "Brienne was drinking a bit so he had to stay sober to make sure that I was okay."

"We should all thank Podrick for his service then." Arya said, something in her voice alerting him that she was teasing her sister but he wasn't sure what about.

"I think I'm going to retire for the night as well then." Davos said awkwardly, standing quickly and leaving the group.

"Right, I should really check on Jon." Daenerys said then before she left, following after Davos quickly and leaving the four of them sitting quietly.

The awkward silence returned with their departure and Gendry picked up a stick to poke at the burning embers of the fire to avoid looking at any of them until Arya snatched it from his hand and threw it on top of the rest of the burning wood. He glanced at her as she stood and grabbed his hand to pull him up with her.

"Well, Gendry and I are going to retire as well. It's been a long day." She said as she met her sister's eyes. "Don't stay up too late."

"I won't." Sansa said, her head dipping in embarrassment. Before Gendry could work out their interaction Arya was pulling him away from the fire to their tent, which had been set up a little ways away.

She stripped down to her tunic and smallclothes almost immediately after stepping inside and sat down on the cot prompting him to do the same. It was dark inside their tent with only a small lamp lit near the cot as she pulled him down to lay next to her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back against his chest, pressing a soft kiss against the back of her head as he did, and she let out a soft sigh of contentment.

"Sansa and Podrick slept together." She said quietly, the words making his eyes wide as he took them in.

"What?" He asked. "How do you know that?"

"Because they were acting strange." She said easily. "And I told Sansa to do it."

"You told your sister to sleep with Podrick?" He asked. "Why?"

"Podrick likes her, you pointed that out to me yourself, and he respects her." She said. "He'll never hurt her, I know that, and my sister has been through so much. I thought she deserved a little happiness in her life after all of that. She's still so young, I don't want her to be alone for the rest of her life. Podrick's good for her, I think."

"Hmm." He hummed quietly as he processed her words. "Do you think they'll get married?"

"Maybe." She said, lifting one of her shoulders lightly. "Podrick's from a minor family so he could take the Stark name if they did and Sansa could stay in Winterfell. It might be a perfect solution, if that's what they decide to do."

He thought about that for a long moment, it made sense in a way. He knew that Sansa was quite attached to Winterfell and didn't really want to leave it for a long amount of time so marrying Podrick, who even he could tell loved her, would be a good option. It made him think about Arya though and the fact that she'd agreed to marry him while knowing that it would mean coming to Storm's End with him when the war was over. 

"Did you want to stay in Winterfell?" He asked quietly.

"People like to say that it's where we grew up, the Stark children, but that isn't really true." She said quietly. "I left Winterfell when I was just a child. I remember happy times playing with my siblings in the Godswood and sitting with my parents in the great hall but much of it is distant, hazy, in the way that childhood memories often are. Winterfell will always be my home but the truth is, I didn't grow up there, not really. I grew up away from it all. I grew up on the run with you and travelling with the Hound after that. Then in Braavos. I came back to Winterfell no longer a child. It will always hold those precious memories but I don't know if I could truly stay there after all this is over, maybe I've changed too much, I don't know but going to Storm's End is a good choice I think."

"But your family will be in Winterfell." He said. "I know how hard you fought to get back to them. I don't want to take you away from them now."

"You're not." She said, bringing his hand up to her mouth to press a soft kiss to the back of it. "I'll still have my family, I can write to them any time and I'm sure we'll visit. I'm not turning my back on them and you aren't taking me away from them, that's not what this is. Storm's End is going to be a fresh start for you and me, a place that holds no bad memories for either of us where we can grow together and raise our children."

"Children?" He asked, slipping his hand under her tunic to press against her belly gently. "You planning to have more than this one?"

"Maybe." She said softly. "We'll see how it goes."

"I love you, you know that?" He asked easily, pulling her more firmly against him. "I think a fresh start will be good for us when this is all over."

"Me too." She said.

His hand absentmindedly began running gently over her stomach, his fingertips tracing the scars, and she shifted slightly to allow him better access. They were quiet for a time, just laying there with each other and allowing themselves to relax for the moment, so when her voice came it surprised him. 

"I got them in Braavos." She said quietly, capturing his attention easily and making him glance at her. She wasn't looking at him but he stared at the side of her face anyway, intent on listing to everything she said. "After you and I got separated, I ended up with the Hound. He was going to sell me back to my brother but we got to the Twins too late, he was already dead. The Hound took me away from the destruction, took me to my aunt intent on selling me to her but she was dead too. Then we were just travelling together, there was no one left to try and sell me back to so he just kept me. Brienne found us and they fought, both of them were trying to protect me and if they'd talked about it I'm sure they would have figured that out but they didn't. She hurt him badly enough that I expected him to die."

"What happened then?" He prompted as she seemed to get caught up in memories for a moment, her gaze faraway, and she shook herself.

"I left him to die. And for the first time in my life, I was completely alone, I had no one but I had the coin that Jaqen had given me at Harrenhal. I tried to get someone to take me to Eastwatch, to Jon on the Wall, but when he said that he was going to Braavos I showed him the coin just like I'd been told to do and he took me with him." She explained. "He took me to the House of Black and White."

"What's that?" He asked.

"It's where I learned to be what I am." She said, her eyes finally landing on him. "I've done terrible things, I don't want you to look at me like I'm a monster."

"We've all done terrible things to survive." He said gently. "I'll never judge you for doing whatever you had to, to make it back home. I promise."

"The House of Black and White is where they train the Faceless Men." She continued after a moment. "They're assassins. They taught me how to hide, how to lie, how to kill. They also taught me how to change my face."

"What does that mean?" He asked in confusion.

"They had a hall of faces that they'd taken from dead people." She said quietly. "They taught me how to wear them, to become someone else. It makes it easier to kill someone if they don't know your face. You could be anyone, anywhere, and they wouldn't see it coming. Anyway, after I'd been training for some time, the sent me out on a mission. I was supposed to kill someone, I had a target, but then I saw a man who'd been on my list. Meryn Trant."

"So you killed him?" He asked, deducing where she was going with the story easily.

"I did." She confirmed. "But he wasn't my target so they punished me for it. They took my sight, made me blind. That's when I began Warging cats, so that I could see, even though I didn't actually realize that that was what I was doing then. They taught me to fight without sight, to use my other senses to beat my opponent. Eventually, I proved myself to them and they gave me my sight back before giving me a second chance. They sent me back out for another mission with another target, an actress, but I made a mistake."

"What did you do?" He asked and she sighed.

"I spoke to her." She said, confusing him again but he didn't interrupt as she continued to explain. "I wasn't supposed to. I was just supposed to kill her and move on but I didn't. When I spoke to her, she was kind to me and I realized that she hadn't done anything wrong. Someone had paid for her death and that was the only reason that she was going to die. I couldn't kill her when she'd done no wrong to me, I failed again because I couldn't kill someone who hadn't done anything to deserve it. The Faceless Men aren't supposed to care about that kind of thing, they get paid and they do the job, but I couldn't."

"So they tried to kill you?" He asked softly and she nodded.

"A girl, The Waif I called her, because the Faceless Men have no names. They sent her to kill me because I'd failed the training. I paid for passage back to Westeros, I thought I could disappear, I thought I was safe. I let my guard down and she wore the face of an old woman, I didn't think." She said quietly. "She surprised me when I didn't expect it and managed to hurt me. I escaped by jumping into the canals but the Faceless Men don't give up until their target is dead, which I should have remembered. I went to the actress I'd been sent to kill in the first place, Lady Crane she was called, because she'd been kind to me. She helped me, sewed up my wounds and gave me milk of the poppy to sleep."

She went quiet again and he pulled her closer, kissing her head again, as he waited for her to continue. He didn't want to push her so he let her tell the story at her own rate. After a few minutes of silence she finally continued.

"The Waif came for me, she killed Lady Crane. It was my fault for going to her in the first place." She said quietly. "I ran and she followed me. I led her to a dark alley away from the main street where I had left Needle, it was so dark that you couldn't see without light but I had a candle lit. She found me, just like I wanted her to, and I put the candle out. They taught me to fight blind but she'd never learned so I was able to beat her in the dark. I took her face and put it in the hall at the House of Black and White, I reclaimed my name and told them that I was leaving and they let me go so I came home."

"I'm glad." He said softly after a moment.

"You don't hate me?" She asked. "I almost gave up my name and my life to people who wanted me to kill others for money."

"But you didn't." He said, turning her to look at him and cradling her face in his hands. "You didn't give it all up. You held onto your identity and refused to do things that you felt were wrong. Many people would have lost themselves but you stayed strong, you remained yourself. That makes you one of the strongest people I know, just as I always suspected that you were. I could never hate you Arry, not for anything in the world, but especially not for doing what you could to survive. I love you with my whole heart and hearing what you survived only makes me love you more."

"Really?" She asked and he noticed the tears in her eyes.

"Really." He said, kissing her softly. "I'm not going anywhere, ever. I don't care what you've done because all of it led you back here, to home, to me."

"I love you." She said, pulling him closer.

"I love you too." He answered, accepting the kiss she gave him. 


	11. Chapter 11

The next day brought them further into the Riverlands where they finally met up with the combined forces of the Riverlands and the Vale. Their uncle Edmure greeted them politely observing the proper curtosies with Daenerys ad their cousin Robyn was quick to follow his lead. Later, when they'd gotten started marching south once more, Sansa informed her that their cousin was a lot less whiny now than he had been the last time they'd seen each other.

They'd only been travelling together for a couple of hours when the inn came into view and Daenerys decided to take a rest for a time. Arya recognized the Inn immediately as she'd stopped there on her way to Winterfell after she'd killed Walder Frey. She immediately glanced at Gendry and she could see by the look in his eyes that he recognized the inn as well, though she knew it had been far longer since he'd been here. Most of the men stayed outside, preferring to take a rest there rather than coming inside, but Daenerys began walking toward the inn with purpose. Her Advisors followed easily along with Jon making her, Sansa and Gendry rush to catch up with them.

The inside of the inn was dimly lit and there weren't many people inside making it rather obvious when they stepped in. Arya's eyes caught on Hot Pie immediately and he seemed to light up as he moved toward them.

"Arry!" He exclaimed as he got closer, sweeping her up into a hug which she returned after a moment of surprise.

"Hello Hot Pie." She said.

"You came back." He said, his eyes drifting to where Gendry was standing just behind her. "And you brought Gendry."

He moved to hug Gendry just as enthusiastically as he had her and Gendry returned it looking awkward. The image made her grin.

"I always knew you two would find each other again." He said, making them both look at him.

"You did?" Jon asked from where he was standing by them.

"'Course." Hot Pie shrugged.

"And you were so sure of that, why?" Jon asked, glancing at the two of them.

"'Cause they're Arry and Gendry, they just make sense." He said with a smile.

"Why do you both call her that?" Sansa asked, looking from Gendry to Hot Pie.

"What?" Hot Pie asked.

"Arry." Sansa clarified. "You know that's not her name, right?"

"'Course I do." Hot Pie Shrugged. "She's Arya Stark, but I knew her as Arry."

"It kind of stuck." Gendry shrugged. 

"It was what Yoren called me." Arya told her sister. "When he told me to pretend to be a boy. It was close enough to my own name that he figured it would be easy for me to remember and then, after they realized that I wasn't a boy, the name became a sort of nickname. Gendry's right, it just stuck."

"Hmm." Jon hummed. "I like it. It's cute."

"You may be my brother but I will still stab you." She grumbled, making him laugh.

"We'd like something to eat, if you have it." Daenerys stepped between them with a sparkle of amusement in her eyes, effectively separating them while also distracting Hot Pie.

"We got fresh kidney pie. I made it just this morning." He told her. "I'll get you all some."

He happily walked away and Daenerys turned to look at them as she motioned to a table for them to sit. Once they were all settled she raised an eyebrow.

"You two have an interesting friend." She said and Arya shrugged.

"He's just Hot Pie." She said. "He chatters a lot and is happiest baking but he's harmless."

"He seems like quite a sweet boy." Davos put in.

"He is." She said with a smile. 

"How'd he end up here then?" Sansa asked. "If he was travelling with you two and Yoren."

"We stayed together for some time." Gendry said. "He was with us in Harrenhal but when the Brotherhood captured us, they sold him to the inn keep to repay all the free meals she'd given them. We got separated from him but at least he's relatively safe here."

"So you're telling me that the Brotherhood sold both of you?" Jon asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"It seems to be something they just did." Gendry answered. 

"They would have sold me too, if I hadn't run away." Arya shrugged. "They planned to ransom me back to Robb."

"Well, I'm glad they didn't." Jon said. "Otherwise, you would have been at the Red Wedding with the rest of them."

"She was." Sandor grumbled, picking at the table as they waited for Hot Pie to return and they all looked at him.

"What?" Sansa asked. He looked up and noticed everyone looking at him and she raised an eyebrow at him when he glanced at her. She had no intentions of helping him out of this.

"She was at the Red Wedding." He said finally. "We both were."

"You were?" Jon asked, looking at her for an explanation and she sighed.

"Sandor was taking me to Robb, to family." She said. "But we got there too late. Robb was already dead, Mother too. I tried to help but I couldn't do anything."

"She tried to go inside." Sandor said. "Don't know what she thought she was going to do. They had an army and she was a little girl but she tried. Had to knock her out to drag her away."

"Gods." Jon said. "Tell me you didn't see anything."

"Can't." She said softly.

"She saw all of it." Sandor said. "I couldn't keep her from seeing it. They paraded his body around like it was a fucking prop."

"It's fine." Arya said, hating all the eyes on her filled with sadness and horror. "I'm fine."

"Pies!" Hot Pie appeared at the edge of their table providing a welcome distraction. He placed a pie in front of each of them and pulled up a chair to the edge of the table, watching them all as they tried the pies with a hopeful look on his face.

"It's really good Hot Pie." Gendry said, noticing the boys expression and Hot Pie's smile widened.

"The secret is browning the butter. Most people don't." He said excitedly and Arya smiled at him, attempting to shove the horrible memories of her brother's body out of her mind, which she didn't succeed in doing as well as she would have liked.

Gendry seemed to notice her distraction and she knew he understood where her mind had gone when he moved his hand to rub soothing circles on her back. It was a subtle display of support but she noticed Hot Pie's eyes on them, tracking the movement easily, before he glanced at the rest of the people at the table with wide eyes. She knew that was wondering if any of them noticed and she figured it was because he was worried about their reaction to the gesture.

"Did you know Gendry is a Lord now, Hot Pie?" She asked, trying to ease their friend's mind. His eyes went wide as he looked at them.

"Really?" He asked. looking at Gendry.

"Yeah." Gendry said, glancing at both of them with a furrowed brow.

"What's your name now?" Hot Pie asked eagerly.

"Gendry Baratheon." He said and she saw the slight blush on his cheeks as Hot Pie gasped dramatically.

"Like the King?" He asked.

"Exactly like that." Arya nodded. "He's Robert Baratheon's son."

"Wow." Hot Pie said. "A King's son."

"He's Lord of Storm's End now." Jon said, joining their conversation.

"Maybe once the war is over, you could come for a visit." Arya said. "I think we'd like that."

"We?" Hot Pie asked, looking at her in confusion. "Won't you be in Winterfell?"

"No." She said with a smile. "I'll be in Storm's End with Gendry."

"She's my wife." Gendry said with a happy smile.

"You're married?" He asked, glancing at them for a long moment before he shrugged. "Huh, I always thought you two were really close but I didn't think you'd get married. She was a lady and you were a bastard so of course you couldn't be together but since you're a lord now, it makes sense."

"You thought they were really close, even back then?" Daenerys asked curiously and Hot Pie shrugged.

"Sure. Gendry didn't like anyone 'cept her." Hot Pie said, his voice matter of fact. "He let her boss him around all the time, even when they'd had an argument. He always listened to her. I thought maybe he'd follow her anywhere, even to his own death, if she asked."

Gendry was blushing properly now and it made Arya have to stifle her laughter. Even Daenerys and Jon seemed amused by Hot Pie statement.

"Not much has changed then." Jon said.

"Shut up, both of you." Gendry said, making Arya snort. She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"I love you." She said, the statement immediately distracted him as he turned to her with a soft expression.

"I love you too." He returned.

"See, that's how he always looked at her." Hot Pie whispered loudly to Jon and Daenerys.

"Hot Pie!" Gendry exclaimed, making them all burst into laughter. It was a moment of lightness in the midst of war which she appreciated greatly.

* * *

Saying goodbye to Hot Pie was harder than she expected but she was glad to secure a promise from him that he would indeed visit them in Storm's End. Even Gendry seemed a little emotional to be leaving him behind but they both knew he'd be safe here so she knew they didn't need to worry too much about him. She knew that Gendry would be departing toward Storm's End the next day so she rode next to him, trying to savor the amount of time they had left before they separated. She'd decided to stay with the main army rather than riding south with him so it could be some time before they saw each other again. She just hoped that the war would be ended quickly.

They rode for a few more hours until the sun started dipping low and Jon made the decision to stop for the night next to a lake that she knew was called the God's eye. She glanced around as they stopped, the surroundings seeming eerily familiar to her, though she was almost sure that she hadn't spent any significant amount of time here. The familiarity put her on edge for some reason because she couldn't remember just how she knew this place so well.

She tried to shake off the strangeness as she sat close to the fire with everyone else but a flash of grey in the trees put her on alert immediately and she stood abruptly, making everyone around her go quiet as they looked at her.

"Arya?" Jon asked, concern in his voice as Ghost moved toward her and planted himself firmly between her and the trees.

"I saw something." She said quietly.

The unsullied guards around Daenerys immediately went on alert just as she had and Gendry moved toward her as if he meant to shield her. The entire camp was plunged into silence as they all stared at the trees. The flash of grey came again, shining in the firelight, and Ghost growled quietly but Arya felt a nudge in her memory and suddenly realized why the place looked so familiar but she couldn't remember being here for a long time. It was Nymeria, she'd seen this place in her dreams for years through the eyes of a wolf. 

She stepped forward, placing a hand on Ghost to calm him, before moving closer to the trees.

"Arya!" Gendry hissed.

"Trust me." She said without even glancing at him.

She kept her steps light and slow as she moved past Daenerys and her guards, leaving Ghost with Jon, before she stopped at the very edge of the woods and peered into the trees. She was trying to see the wolf she knew was hiding there but it was dark and Nymeria was better at hiding than a wolf her size should be.

"It's okay." She said softly, trying to urge her wolf out.

"What in seven hells are you doing?" Jon threw out but she ignored him.

"C'mon girl. It's me, Arya." She said, keeping her voice soft and calm. There was movement in the woods and suddenly, Nymeria padded out of the trees and stopped in front of her. She heard exclamations of fear behind her but she paid them no mind as a smile crossed her face and she held out her hand. "Hi, girl."

Nymeria moved closer, bumping her head into her hand and she smiled widely as she patted her gently. The wolf sat directly in front of her, her body as tall as Arya that way, and proceeded to allow her to happily pet her. Ghost stopped growling behind her and padded over to sniff at his long lost sister.

"Fucking hells. That's a big fucking wolf." Sandor spat and she rolled her eyes as she grinned over her shoulder at him.

"You've seen a direwolf before." She said, motioning to Ghost.

"He's nowhere near as big as that fucking bitch." He said. Jon laughed, seeming to have calmed down as he realized that there was no real threat.

"Ghost was the runt of the litter." He informed them. Arya nodded before turning to look at Gendry.

"Come here." She motioned at him and he shook his head immediately, staring at Nymeria with wide eyes.

"Arry, that thing will eat me." He protested and she rolled her eyes.

"No she won't." She told him, glancing back at her wolf. "Will you Nymeria?"

Gendry looked less than convinced but he stepped toward her slowly anyway, never taking his eyes off of Nymeria, who watched him approach without even moving. He stopped next to Arya and Nymeria still hadn't taken her eyes off him.

"Offer her your hand." She told him. "So she can smell you." 

"Okay." He said as he hesitantly held his hand out. Nymeria stared at him for a moment longer before dipping her head to sniff at his hand and Gendry stayed perfectly still as she did. She moved toward him and he made a soft sound of surprise mixed with fear until she licked his face happily, her tail wagging behind her, making him laugh.

"Dumb cunt." Sandor growled. "The boy at the inn was right. You'd follow her to your death."

Arya rolled her eyes and ignored his statement as she rubbed behind Nymeria's ears. The wolf seemed to grow tired of licking Gendry and instead turned to Arya. She sniffed her body, her nose wondering along, until it stopped suddenly at her belly. Nymeria stepped back a pace, cocking her head to the side, as she sniffed Gendry once more before coming back to Arya. Her nose pressed firmly against her belly and Gendry and Arya exchanged a glance.

"She knows." She said, the words soft enough that the others couldn't hear them. "Just like Ghost."

"Well, at least she likes me." Gendry shrugged and she grinned.

"Yeah." She said, pushing Nymeria gently away from her belly not wanting anyone to notice her sudden fixation. She moved back to the fire with Gendry, Nymeria following closely behind them as they sat back down, and she curled her large body around both of them protectively.

"She's claimed you." Arya said with a grin.

"Has she been here the whole time?" Jon asked. "In the Riverlands?"

"I think so." Arya said. "This is where I had to set her free. I don't think she's left."

"She is truly magnificent." Daenerys said next to him. "I'm used to Ghost now but he's much smaller than she is. She's quite impressive."

"Yeah." Arya said, patting her head lightly.

"I wonder if Lady would be that big." Sansa said, a sadness in her voice as she looked at Nymeria. 

"Maybe." Arya answered softly.

"Lady?" Daenerys asked.

"Sansa's direwolf." Arya said.

"You all had one?" She asked and Jon nodded.

"We found a litter in the woods. Their mother was dead and father allowed us to keep them." He explained. "Nymeria and Ghost are the last ones. They're the only ones who survived."

"Oh." Daenerys said, sympathy in her voice. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah." Jon said, the atmosphere turning somber as everyone remembered the ones they'd lost.

"I think I'm going to head to bed." Sansa said quietly.

"Me too." Arya agreed. Gendry stood with her an they retreated to their tent with Nymeria trailing them. She flopped down on the other side of the tent from their cot and promptly fell asleep making Arya smile.

She and Gendry got ready for bed quietly and it was only after they'd slipped under the furs that Gendry spoke.

"How'd you know it was her?" He asked. "It could have been just a regular wolf."

"I recognized this place." She told him. "I know we passed it on our way to King's Landing all those years ago but I knew that wasn't the reason I recognized it. It was familiar in a way that would suggest I'd spent a massive amount of time here but I knew I hadn't. When I saw her grey fur in the trees, I remembered seeing it in my dreams, through her eyes. That's how I knew it was her."

"I remember you telling me about her but I didn't expect her to be so big." He admitted and she grinned as she turned to look at him.

"What did you expect?" She asked and he smiled softly.

"I don't know. Something small and compact. like you." He teased and she kicked him lightly under the furs.

"She's a direwolf, not a dog." She said.

"I know but Ghost is kind of tiny, I mean, relatively." He said. "They were packmates. I expected them to be the same I guess."

"Logical." She hummed. "But obviously inaccurate. As Jon said, Ghost was the runt. He was never going to get as big as the rest of them."

"That's true, I guess." He said, brushing her hair back from her face. "She's protective."

"She always has been. It's why I had to send her away, I think I've told you about what happened." She shrugged. "And now that she knows about the babe, I suspect she'll be even more protective."

"Probably." He nodded. They went quiet for a moment as he played with her hair and she tapped her fingers lightly on his chest.

"I'm going to miss you." She said softly.

"I'm going to miss you too." He returned. "But once this war is won we can go to Storm's End and live in peace for once. I think it'll be nice to find out what the world is like without war."

"Yeah." She said, chewing on her lip before she leaned up on her elbow. "I know I told you not to make promises that you can't keep but I want you to promise me that you'll be safe anyway."

"I promise." He breathed out immediately, his eyes trailing over her face.

"When this war is over, you come back to me okay?" She said softly, meeting his eyes seriously. "Our story isn't over yet, it's just beginning, so you come back to me."

"As m'lady commands." He answered softly and she laughed quietly before leaning over to kiss him. He looked at her seriously when she pulled back. "I'll come back Arya, I swear it. If the Gods try to take me away from you, I'll tell them to fuck off."

"Good." She said with a smile. He kissed her again and she let herself forget the war and their looming separation for the night. 


	12. Chapter 12

The next day, he savored every moment he had left with Arya but eventually he had to get ready to leave so he packed his things into the saddle bag on the side of his horse. Davos was doing the same a little ways away from him, as was the group of men that Jon was sending with him to the Stormlands, and Arya was hovering at the edge of the crowd with Nymeria at her side. She was speaking softly to the wolf but she was far enough away that he couldn't hear what she was saying.

"Safe travels." Jon said politely, stepping up next to him and bringing his attention away from Arya.

"Thank you." He replied immediately. Jon seemed to study him for a moment before he reached out to embrace him and Gendry returned the hug in surprise.

"Come back." Jon said after they pulled away, his eyes sliding to Arya for a moment before coming back to meet his. "She's one of the strongest people I know but I don't think she'd survive losing you, especially not now."

"I fully intend on returning to her." Gendry assured him and Jon nodded, pressing his lips together for a moment before letting out a soft sigh.

"When I first found out about you and Arya, I reacted badly, and for that I wanted to say I'm sorry." He said quietly. "You're good for her. She seems closer to the girl I knew when she's around you, she lets her guard down, and I know that means that she trusts you. You make her happy and that's all I could ask as her brother."

"It's okay." Gendry said. "I know that it must have come as a shock, especially with everything else going on, so don't worry about it."

"Alright." Jon nodded, obviously relieved to have finally fully cleared the air between them. "Well, I wish you good fortune Gendry."

"And the same to you." Gendry returned easily. Jon nodded and stepped away, going back to his spot next to Sansa, and to Gendry's surprise Daenerys came over to stand in front of him. "Your grace."

"I don't anticipate that you'll have much trouble assuming control of Storm's End but just in case, I'm going to be sending some of the unsullied along with the other men accompanying you." She said.

"Oh, thank you." He said in surprise and she smiled at him.

"You are my kin, Gendry." She reminded him. "There aren't very many people who share the same blood as me left in this world, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that you are protected."

"Well, I appreciate it." He told her honestly. "I've got a lot more to lose now than I ever did."

"Yes, you do." She said, looking at Arya. "But you won't lose them and they won't lose you, we'll make sure of that."

"Aye, we will." He nodded. Arya caught his eye and began making her way over to him as it became obvious that the men around him were ready to leave. Daenerys nodded politely to him before she stepped away to give them a moment of relative privacy to say good bye.

He wrapped his arms around her immediately pulling her into a tight embrace as soon as she was close enough. She allowed the movement easily, returning the embrace and holding him just as tight, and they stood like that for a long moment. He felt Nymeria twirl herself around both of them, rubbing the length of her body against each of them with the movement, and he laughed as he pulled one of his hands away from Arya to run his fingers through her fur.

Arya moved back just enough to look up and meet his eyes and before she could say anything, he leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Her hands came up to cradle his face and he leaned his forehead into hers as he pulled back, their eyes connecting from that close distance, and she gave him a sad smile.

"I'll miss you." She said softly.

"I'll miss you too." He returned. "But just remember, when this is all over we don't have to fight anymore. We can go to Storm's End and start our life together with our babe. It'll be over soon and we'll be together again."

"I know." She breathed out. "I love you."

"I love you." He said, kissing her again before he forced himself to step away.

"Wait." She said, catching his arm easily. "Nymeria is going to go with you."

"Arry, she should be with you." He protested.

"I have Ghost and Jon and the dragons, I'll be fine." She said, giving him a small smile. "I'll feel better if she's with you. It'll be a little extra protection and she'll definitely dissuade anyone should they try to challenge your position as Lord of Storm's End."

"Are you sure?" He asked and she nodded.

"Absolutely." She said. Nymeria looked at her for a moment and pressed her giant head against her allowing Arya to press a kiss to her head and whisper something to her softly before she padded over to him easily. He patted her head.

"Alright then." He said, a slight smile crossing his face. 

"Come back to me." Arya said seriously, echoing the words she'd spoken the night before.

"Always." He assured her.

He mounted his horse and began following Davos away from the main army with Nymeria walking next to him. Arya waved at him and he returned the gesture, keeping her in his line of sight until he couldn't anymore, reminding him suddenly of the last time they'd parted when he'd been carted away in a wagon. This time though, his heart was lighter because he knew that he'd see her again.

* * *

Travelling with a smaller group meant that they traveled farther in a day than they'd been able to with the massive army. They left the Riverlands by the time the sun was setting and had entered the Reach. Davos informed him that it would probably take about three days for them to reach Storm's End if they kept the pace they'd been traveling since they departed from the main army. Gendry, for his part, was glad when they stopped for the night as he was almost sure that he was developing saddle sores from the amount of time he'd been riding.

When they had finished setting up camp and made a fire, they were all crowded around it and Nymeria curled herself around him easily. He had noticed the other men glancing at her out of the corner of their eyes, obviously still wary of the large wolf, but he'd become used to her quite quickly. He understood their apprehension but he trusted Nymeria not to do anything bad. He felt a strange connection to the wolf and he knew it was because she reminded him of Arya, who he trusted implicitly, and that feeling was extended to her direwolf.

Davos moved to sit next to him as they ate their dinner and Nymeria raised her head to study him for a long moment before she seemed to deem him acceptable and flopped back down on his lap. Gendry ate his bread and meat with one hand while he petted her with the other, glancing at the man next to him in question.

"I've been wondering something for a while, since I found out about you and Arya." He said cautiously and Gendry raised an eyebrow.

"What's that?" He asked. The man pursed his lips for a moment before looking at him with a serious expression.

"Why did you never mention her?" He asked. "When I came to get you in King's Landing and told you about Jon, you never even mentioned her name, though I'm almost certain that you knew Jon was her brother. I understand not mentioning it to him at first, he might have reacted in a negative way, but you didn't even mention her to me."

"It's complicated." Gendry said after a moment. "I thought she was dead."

"Then what would have been the harm in saying something?" Davos asked and Gendry sighed heavily as he thought about how to say what he wanted to in a way that made sense.

"I knew Arya when she was a little girl pretending to be a boy, covered in dirt and mud and looking nothing like a highborn lady, and even then I knew she was a girl. There was something about her, her face was too soft even for a young boy, she was delicate. Not in attitude obviously, and she'd kill me if she ever heard me say that, but she was. She was....pretty, even then, too pretty to be a boy. I confronted her about it, let her know that I knew."

"And how'd that go?" Davos asked, seeming slightly amused. 

"She denied it, kept trying to insist that she was a boy." He said, smiling at the memory.

"What did you say?" Davos asked and Gendry blushed slightly.

"I told her that if she was a boy then she could take her cock out and piss." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't know she was a lady at the time. I thought she was just a lowborn girl who was pretending to be a boy and traveling with the Night's Watch for some reason. She was a pain in the ass, wouldn't stop asking questions, and I mentioned that the Hand of the King had come to ask me questions before he died. That both of them had, I was trying to convince her to stop asking questions, but the words did the opposite."

"The Hand of the King was her father." Davos said and Gendry nodded. 

"I didn't know that at the time but when I mentioned that he'd asked me questions she went quiet for a moment before she told me that no one could know she was a girl." He said. "I obviously wasn't going to say anything, even before I knew who she was, but then she told me her name. Her real name. She trusted me with it, with knowing the one thing about her that could get her into trouble if anyone found out, and I kept her secret for years."

"But if you thought she was dead, why still keep the secret?" Davos asked, bringing the conversation back to the original point.

"Because she was important to me." Gendry said softly. "I couldn't betray her, even if she was gone, even if I'd never see her again."

"You loved her, even then." Davos concluded. "Before you even knew that she was still alive."

"I did." Gendry confirmed easily. "I think a part of me always loved her even when we were just children. It was a different kind of love then but still, it was love and I couldn't betray that, not ever, not for anyone."

"I understand that." Davos said with a nod. "Loyalty to the ones you love, it's an important quality to possess."

"It is." Gendry agreed. 

They went quiet after that and not long after, Gendry left the fire to enter his tent to go to sleep. Nymeria followed close behind and laid on the ground next to his cot, her body heat radiating around him and keeping him warm even without the furs, and he patted her head lightly. After his talk with Davos, his mind was caught up in memories of him and Arya, so when his eyes finally slipped closed, she appeared in his dreams. He made better choices in his dreams than he had in his memories, making a smile cross his face as he slept.


	13. Chapter 13

When they stopped for a rest the next night, Arya found herself in the company of the girl that Sansa had informed her had brought Bran home to Winterfell. Meera Reed, she knew her name was, and Arya found that the girl reminded her of herself in some ways. For one, she was one of the only other women who was carrying weapons and she seemed to actually know how to use them. Gendry had informed her that he thought she was in love with Bran after she and her father had joined their procession and she wondered if he was right. He'd been right about Podrick and Sansa, after all.

"You were with my brother beyond the Wall." She said, making the statement come out as a question in an attempt to start a conversation. Meera was whittling a stick into a spear with a small knife as she sat next to her and barely glanced up when she spoke.

"I was." She confirmed.

"I also heard that you were the one who brought him back to Winterfell." She said, studying the girl's face. "I wanted to thank you for that."

"Really?" Meera looked at her fully then, surprise obvious in her eyes. "You just want to thank me? You're not going to ask what happened beyond the Wall?"

"Well, I'll admit, I am curious but I won't ask you to tell me. Not unless you want to." Arya told her honestly. "Some of the things I went through to get back home, I'm not ready to share with people, and I imagine that you have some things like that too and that's okay. I do honestly just want to thank you for bringing him home."

"You don't need to thank me for that." Meera said after a moment. "I was always going to make sure that he made it home."

"You traveled with him for some time didn't you?" Arya asked.

"Years." Meera confirmed. Arya nodded.

"You become close traveling together for that long, especially in dangerous circumstances, you can't help it." She said, thinking of Hot Pie and Gendry, even Lommy. "I know about that, but you weren't at Winterfell when I came. You'd already gone."

"I didn't want to leave him." Meera said quietly.

"Why did you?" Arya asked.

She made sure to let Meera know with her tone that she wasn't judging her, she was just honestly curious. Meera chewed on her lip as she started messing with the end of the spear in her hands and Arya could tell that she was thinking about what to say so she waited patiently. After a moment, Meera blew out a long sigh.

"I couldn't see him like that, the way he was when we made it back. He was emotionless, cold, and I couldn't handle it." She said quietly. "He wasn't Bran anymore and that hurt to even think about so I couldn't bring myself to face it every day. Maybe I was being a coward but I couldn't do it so I left."

"You're not a coward." Arya shook her head. "You care about him and you couldn't stand to see him in that state. I understand that."

"Your brother said that he was getting better. Becoming more himself." She said, obviously deflecting. "That's good."

"You should go see him when the war is finished." Arya told her and Meera looked at her with wide eyes as she shook her head.

"I couldn't." She protested. "Not after the way I left. He probably wouldn't want to see me anyway."

"I think he will." Arya told her gently. "I think it would be good for him and maybe it would even help him come back to himself more, to be surrounded by familiar people. You were with him for years and you may have left but that doesn't mean that you can never go back. Maybe you can even tell him."

"Tell him what?" Meera asked and Arya smiled at her, sure now that Gendry had been correct in his assumption.

"That you love him." She said simply and Meera went red.

"I don't know what you mean." She said.

"But you do." Arya said, smiling even wider. "It's alright, your secret is safe with me. But, just so you know, I approve."

She left Meera there, still staring at her with an embarrassed look on her face, to make her way over to Sansa and drag her away from the fire and into her tent. Sansa followed her easily but Arya caught the glance between her sister and Podrick before they left the group. She sat down on the cot and pulled Sansa down next to her before pulling playfully on her sister's braid.

Sansa pulled her hair from her fingers and raised an eyebrow at her in question and Arya studied her for a long moment. Her cheeks were flushed from sitting next to the fire and her hair was a bit messy despite the braid, an obvious sign of their travel, but she looked happy. The dark cloud that seemed to follow her around seemed to have lifted slightly to let some sunlight into her sister's life and she had to think that Podrick had at least a small part in that.

"So, you took my advise about the young Podrick I presume?" She asked, though she already knew the answer to the question. Sansa flushed even brighter.

"You can't just ask me about something like that Arya." She protested weakly and Arya raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why? Because we're _ladies_?" She asked, sarcasm plain in her voice. "I'll tell you all about Gendry if you'd like."

"I don't want to know." Sansa said. "And I don't want to gossip about Podrick either."

"Fine." Arya said, bumping her shoulder lightly against Sansa's. "You don't have to give me details, though I am curious about that reputation he earned himself, just..."

"Just what?" Sansa asked. Arya looked at her seriously.

"I know that I'm the one that told you to go for it and I know that Podrick is a good guy but some men are good at hiding who they truly are." She said quietly. "So just tell me, is he kind to you?"

"He is." Sansa said, taking her hand. "If he wasn't, he wouldn't still be in my bed. He's good and kind and never cruel. Not to mention, he's a very unselfish lover which is probably what got him that reputation that you're so curious about."

"Good. I'm glad for you." Arya told her honestly before a small smile crossed her face. "Are you going to marry him?"

"Marry him?!" Sansa exclaimed, obviously surprised. "Why would you think that?"

"You're sleeping with him and you obviously like him a lot." Arya said with a shrug. "And eventually, House Stark will need heirs and he is from a minor house so he could take your name and continue the family name. You trust him and you know that he's not just after your title or your claim. I just thought that maybe, it might make a certain amount of sense, only if you wish to marry though. I'm sure Daenerys would legitimize any child you had if you chose not to."

"I haven't even truly thought about it." Sansa said after a moment. "Right now, I'm just enjoying his company."

"That's fair." Arya shrugged.

"But, I'm not entirely opposed to the idea." Sansa said easily. "I've been married twice before and both were not by my own choice. It might be nice to see what a marriage is about when I choose it for myself."

"It's something to think about." Arya said. "You don't have to decide right now. We're in the middle of a war after all."

"You got married in the middle of a war." Sansa said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes but Gendry and I have known each other for years. We built our trust and love for one another over time and now we're having a babe, marriage was the foregone conclusion." Arya said and Sansa hummed quietly.

"Pod and I have known each other for years as well." She said, contemplation in her voice. "And we have also built up our trust for one another in that time. I'm not sure about the love part but I'm sure it will come given the time for it to be nurtured."

"Maybe on your part but I'm pretty sure that Pod is already there." Arya said and Sansa looked at her with furrowed brows.

"What do you mean?" She asked and Arya raised an eyebrow.

"Are you serious?" She asked incredulously. "You're telling me that you haven't noticed that man's udder devotion to you. He looks at you like you hung the very stars in the sky and every time you speak to him, it's like he's amazed that you even deemed him worthy of bestowing time upon. He'd give you anything in the world, if only you asked. I'm sure of it."

"Really?" Sansa asked, her cheeks flaming once more. 

"Really." Arya insisted. "He loves you."

"Oh." Sansa breathed out, her voice sounding amazed.

Arya knew then that Sansa still believed herself unworthy of the love Podrick so obviously wanted to bestow upon her and she hoped that the man could convince her sister that she wasn't. She had high hopes that they'd be able to work it out because she didn't think that she'd mind having the man as a goodbrother.

* * *

When she went to sleep that night she found herself inside Nymeria. Her direwolf was sleeping in the tent with Gendry and she could see his sleeping form on his cot, making her smile in her sleep. She got up and padded over to him, pressing her nose to him gently for a moment to inhale his scent, before she pushed her way out of the tent. The camp was quiet with the fire burning low in the center and she took note of the men who'd been left on guard t the edges. 

She padded past them, ignoring the wary looks they gave her, intent on doing a parameter check herself. While inside Nymeria, she had a much better sense of smell and could see farther into the dark that she could as a human so she made quick work of it. She started from the eastern side and made her way all the way around but didn't note anything of import but she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that was running through her. She wasn't sure if it was coming from her or Nymeria but either way, she didn't trust it.

She made a decision to do a second pass and push out further into the trees as she did, just to make sure. She was northeast of the camp when her ears caught the sound of footsteps and she hunkered down as she listened intently. She thought for a moment that it might just be a deer or some other large animal when she distinctly heard voices speaking quietly and she crawled forward on her belly slowly trying to locate the people.

She soon reached a patch of underbrush as the voices became clear and she crawled forward on her belly to take a look. They were soldiers. It was a small group of maybe fourteen men wearing armor and helmets, all carrying swords, and creeping in the direction of the camp. She couldn't see color through Nymeria's eyes but the Lion on the front of their armor and the style of their helmets marked them clearly as Lannister soldiers.

She crawled backwards hastily, spinning and running back toward the camp quickly, raising her head to howl in warning. She burst through into the clearing where the camp was located just as Gendry was stumbling out of his tent and she howled again, turning toward the direction of the soldiers, and she noted him begin shouting orders as the others came from their tents.

"Be on guard!" He shouted, slipping into his tent to retrieve his warhammer. "She wouldn't be howling for nothing. Be prepared."

It was quiet in the clearing as the men waited for what had stirred her up in the first place and only a few minutes later, the Lannister men appeared. They seemed surprised to find the men awake and waiting for them, giving Gendry and the others the opportunity to catch a few of them by surprise. Arya helped where she could, knocking men to the ground and protecting the others as they fought, and she noted that Gendry was quite good at fighting.

The camp was chaos as the ringing of swords meeting echoed through the trees but it was over rather quickly. The Lannister men had obviously been relying on the element of surprise and the cover of nightfall and losing that had thrown their entire plan off making defeating them easy. After the camp went quiet once more, she turned to find Gendry as she'd lost him in the fight, to find him standing by his tent. It was then that her eyes caught the Lannister soldier that had somehow escaped their notice creeping around the trees and she saw the knife in his hand.

He lunged before she could even bark out a warning and she heard Gendry cry out as the knife made contact with his shoulder. She moved on instinct, tackling the man away from him and using her teeth to rip out his throat. She turned back to Gendry, who was now clutching his bloody shoulder, and she made her way over to him. She pressed her nose against his arm lightly, whimpering slightly in concern.

"I'm okay." He said softly.

She pushed him lightly with her head until he was sitting on the ground and she noticed Davos hovering next to them. She stepped back slightly to allow him to come closer but stayed at his side.

"I'm just going to take a look." Davos said cautiously, his eyes staying on her for a long moment before he moved to push the shirt off of Gendry's soldier and pour water over it to clean the cut. Gendry hissed quietly as Davos pressed around the wound lightly and a growl came from her without her even meaning to do it. 

"It's alright." Gendry said soothingly, pressing his face into the fur at her shoulder. "He's not hurting me."

"It's just a flesh wound, shouldn't even need stitches." Davos said. "Lucky he didn't manage to get a good swing."

"Just bandage it up. I'll be fine." Gendry said. She moved to lick his face gently and he smiled lightly. "Yeah, yeah. I'm alright girl. Arya's going to kick my ass for getting hurt though."

She snorted, which didn't quiet translate as a wolf, but she figured that he got the point when he grinned. She was about to lick him again when she was suddenly jerked out of Nymeria and her eyes flashed open in her own tent hundreds of miles away. Jon was looking down at her with concern in his eyes, Daenerys hovering slightly behind him.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly. "You were crying out in your sleep. I thought something had happened so I came in here."

"I'm fine." She said, trying to orient herself in her own body. She sat up, clearing her throat, before she looked at them. "Gendry's contingent were attacked."

"Arya." Jon sighed out quietly, brushing her hair back from her face. "You just had a nightmare. Gendry's fine, he'll be in Storm's End soon."

"It wasn't a nightmare." She protested. "I saw it through Nymeria. I can warg into her when I'm sleeping, like Bran can do when he's awake."

"Are they okay?" Daenerys asked, seeming to accept her at her word.

"They're fine." Arya told her. "Gendry got hurt but it's not anything serious."

"Who the hell attacked them?" Jon asked.

"Lannister soldiers." She told him. 

"Do you think they know who they are or where they're going?" Daenerys asked in concern. 

"I don't know for sure but I don't think so." Arya shrugged. "It was only a small group of soldiers. If Cersei knew who they were, she likely could have figured out our attack plan and would have sent more to ensure that they never made it to their destination. I think the soldiers were there by happenstance, likely making their way to the capital or something, and saw the smoke from the fire."

"Alright, we'll go with that until we get an indication that it's something else." Jon nodded. "We'll go forward with that assumption but we'll keep an eye out the closer we get to King's Landing. The last thing we need is a surprise attack compromising our plan."

"Okay." Arya nodded.

"This is going to work." Daenerys said, touching her hand lightly. "The war is going to end soon and you are going to see your husband again."

"Gendry's a fighter." Jon added. "He'll come back to you."

"I know." Arya said.

They left her tent not much long after, all of them suddenly reminded just how serious the war they were marching toward was, and Arya found herself praying to the Old Gods once again. _Please protect him. Bring him home to me._ A light breeze blew through the flap in her tent to play in her hair only a moment later and a sense of calm came over her. She smiled as she sent up a word of thanks, feeling much more at ease, as she laid back down. She got an overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be okay and she knew somehow that it was the Gods answering her. They'd survive this.


	14. Chapter 14

When they finally made it to Storm's End, Gendry found himself staring up at the castle in awe. The tower went straight up into the sky and it seemed implausible that it would be standing tall and straight as it was but he remembered the story that Davos had told him about it as the rode. Apparently it was reinforced by spells and magic to keep it standing and rumor had it that Arya's ancestor, who had helped build the Wall and Winterfell, had assisted in the construction. For some reason that made him feel more connected to the place than his own blood.

When they rode up to the gates, the guards let them inside surprisingly easily meaning they didn't have to fight to get inside which he was relieved about. Davos had been right when he said that the wound on his shoulder was just a flesh wound but it still smarted if he moved his arm too much so he was glad not to have to heft his war hammer around. They found out from the castle's castellan that Storm's End had been given to a minor Lannister cousin after the death's of Renly and Stannis but he'd been called back to the capitol to prepare for the fight against Daenerys. 

Most of the castle staff had served under the Baratheon family long before the Lannister's had taken over and were happy to welcome him and his contingent into the castle, though many of them seemed wary of Nymeria trotting along beside him. Davos stayed at his side while the castellan showed them to the Lord's chambers and made sure that the other soldiers had a place in the barracks before he summoned the castle maester.

"Why are you summoning the Maester?" Gendry asked him as he sat down at the table at the edge of the room. "I'm fine and no one else is injured."

"I'm not calling on him for his medical expertise." Davos said. "The maester of the castle is generally to one who's in charge of the rookery. He sends ravens and receives letters for the whole castle. We need to send out ravens to all the bannermen in the Stormlands and have them gather here to swear fealty to you and help in the war effort."

"Will anyone even answer?" Gendry asked him. "I know Daenerys legitimized me and made me Lord of the Storm's End but she doesn't sit on the Iron Throne yet, she technically doesn't have that power. What if they don't recognize me as their lord?"

"Some of them may not accept it until she does take the throne and make it legal but others will answer the summons." Davos assured him. "Many of the Lords here in the Stormlands are loyal to the Baratheon name and hate the Lannisters. They'll come."

"I hope you're right." Gendry sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I just want this war to end so we can finally just move on from all of the fighting."

"I know, lad." Davos said, joining him as the table.

They sat together in silence as they waited for the maester to make an appearance and it hit him all at once how exhausted he was and how tired of fighting. He had faith in Daenerys and truly believed that she would be able to take the throne from Cersei but he hoped that it wouldn't take very long. The plan was for a siege of King's Landing by creating a blockade and he knew that it could take months before a surrender came, if one came at all, and he had to admit he wasn't looking forward to it.

It was mainly to do with Arya, really. Now that he'd found her again, and she was carrying his babe, he didn't like being separated from her. He already missed her and it had only been a few days, he couldn't imagine going months without seeing her. He was tired of war and conflict, he just wanted a quite life with her. He knew that they had to finish this war first but after that he would be happy to never see another day of fighting in his life. He knew that was probably unlikely but he kept that hope in his mind anyway.

A knock came at the door, dragging him out of his thoughts and making him sit up straighter as he called for them to enter and a man stepped into the room. He was wearing the robes and chain that marked him as a maester and he bowed to Gendry when he turned to look at him. He didn't like the bowing but he knew it was traditional and proper so he didn't comment, though he suspected that he had a grimace on his face as Davos threw him a look of warning usually reserved for when the man wanted him to hold his tongue.

"I'm Maester Jurne, I serve this castle." He said. "I was told that you needed me?"

"Yes." He said with a nod, glancing at Davos. "I want you to call the banners."

"All of them, my lord?" He asked.

"Yes." Davos answered. "Tell them to come to Storm's End to swear fealty to their lord, Gendry Baratheon."

"Right away, my lord." He nodded, turning it into an almost half bow. "Will you be requiring anything else?"

"No." Gendry shook his head, leaving his chair and moving toward the window to look out to the sea. "Thank you, Maester Jurne."

"My lord." He turned to leave the room and Gendry noticed Davos trail after him, likely going to make sure that he sent the letters where they were meant to go and not a warning to Cersei.

It was far warmer here than it had been in Winterfell even though it was technically still winter but he was used to it having grown up in King's Landing. The light breeze from the bay brought the scent of the ocean to him which was far more pleasant than the smell of shit from the city. It was beautiful here and he could imagine raising a family here easily which made him smile. 

He'd never thought that he would have something like this and, while he didn't like the formality and title that came with it, it made him happy to think that he'd be able to give his own children a far better life than he'd had. He stared out at the sea, watching the water break on the rocks, and he could see why it had been named Shipbreaker Bay.

Nymeria got up from where she had been laying under the table and made her way over to him to bump his hand with her head, an obvious signal that she wanted to be petted, and he grin down at her as he patted her gently. 

"What do you think girl? Will Arya like it here?" He asked. She gave a light bark at his question and he nodded. "I think so too."

She leaned her body into him and he had to brace himself against the wall to keep from falling over as he shoved both hands into her fur and ruffled it around, dropping a kiss to the top of her hair, and he was amused by how much she was like a huge baby. She loved the attention he lavished on her and would relax next to him when he was working on something. It was a direct contrast to her enormous size and fierce appearance.

It occurred to him that she and Arya was opposites in that realm. Arya was petite and could look like a harmless lady when she wanted while Nymeria was large and threatening but their personalities were opposite of their appearances. Both were fierce in their protectiveness though and he knew both were capable of taking out anything that they perceived as a threat to their friends and family. They were a perfect match and he wondered if all of the direwolves had been like that with their respective owners. He figured the answer was yes.

* * *

It took a fortnight before the closest bannermen started piling into the castle and many others had sent ravens in response to the call saying that they were making their way to Storm's End. The response from the bannermen of the Stormlands was for better than he had expected, with Davos informing him that most of the Houses pledged to House Baratheon had answered the summons, which he felt good about.

It took another week after that for _all_ of the bannermen to finally arrive, making the castle feel much fuller, and he had the kitchen staff prepare a small feast to welcome them all to Storm's End. He'd greeted each of them when they arrived but he hadn't had to deal with them all at once until that night and he had to admit he was nervous but Davos gave him an encouraging talk so he felt as ready as he could given the circumstances.

He'd spent the time waiting for the bannermen familiarizing himself with the castle and, though he didn't have a full grasp on the layout, he could at least make his own way around without a chaperone now, so making it to the Round Hall where all the lords were waiting was easy. He'd shared his meals with the Northmen and Unsullied that had been sent along with him and had gotten to know them better. They all respected him despite his bastard status as they'd fought alongside one another at Winterfell and he knew that that might not be the case with all of the lords gathering in the castle so he was glad to have them at his back. 

He was also glad to have Nymeria. The people working in the castle had become used to her during his stay but he'd kept her out of sight of the lords as they'd come on the advise of Davos but he had decided to bring her along to the feast just in case. He knew that Arya was right, with her by his side no one was likely to challenge his claim which would be beneficial.

Before entering the Round Hall, he took a deep breath to center himself so that when he finally did enter he looked calm and collected. He saw the lords eyeing Nymeria, some with fear in their eyes, and he had to stop himself from smirking. She was extracting the response he'd expected but he forced himself not to pay attention to their responses and give away that it was what he'd wanted. Davos gave him a disapproving look as he joined him at the Lord's table but he thought he saw a bit of amusement in the older man's eyes.

Lord Selwyn Tarth, who Gendry remembered because he was Brienne's father, cleared his throat with his eyes stuck on Nymeria.

"Forgive me, my lord, but is that a direwolf?" He asked and Gendry nodded.

"It is." He confirmed.

"Where in seven hells did you get a direwolf?" Lord Estermont asked. "I thought they only lived in the far North, though I did hear a rumor that the Stark children had direwolves as pets but they're all gone except the bastard."

"You're wrong about that, my lord." Davos spoke up. "There are still four Starks living. Jon, who was recently legitimized by the Dragon Queen just as Gendry was and three of his younger siblings."

" And to answer your question, Lord Estermont, she's not actually mine." Gendry said, resting a hand on Nymeria's head. "She belongs to my wife, Lady Arya Stark. She sent her along with me."

"I wasn't aware that you were married, my lord." Lord Tarth put in.

"Why is your wife not with you?" A Lord he couldn't remember the name of asked.

"She's with her brother and the Dragon Queen." He answered, using the opportunity to propel the conversation in a different direction. "Which brings me to why I've called you all here. I've pledged myself to Daenerys Targaryen and I need you, as my bannermen, to help win this war and bring about peace in the seven kingdoms."

"Why should we fight for her?" Lord Morrigan asked. "A foreign invader? If the rumor is correct, you are Robert Baratheon's son, the only one left to him. Why don't you take the throne, it's yours by right."

"I don't want the throne." He said firmly. "And it's not mine by right, I'm a bastard. Daenerys legitimized me herself, she trusted me not to make a move against her and I made a vow to her, I will not break my word. Also, if we're going by lineage, she has more right to it than me. Her father was king, just as mine was, and she's a legitimate child. I support Daenerys Targaryen and I'm asking you, as your lord, to do the same." 

"We don't even know her." Lord Estermont said. "She could lead us to destruction. Going against the throne is dangerous and we could easily be killed."

"Would you rather stay under the rule of Cersei Lannister, who blew up the Great Sept and declared herself Queen with no rights to the throne?" Davos asked. "The woman who gave Storm's End to a Lannister and made you all bow to the man?"

"It might be better than serving a Targaryen." Lord Morrigan said. "Half of them went mad, including her father."

"Daenerys isn't like her father." Gendry said. "I've spoken with her, I've been in her company for months, and I've not seen even a hint of madness. She's good and kind and she truly just wants what's best for everyone. She'll be a good queen, far better than Cersei, and I trust her."

"I will stand with you, my lord." Lord Tarth said finally.

Gendry nodded, thankful for his support, and slowly all of the other lords followed him and declared their allegiance with his cause. He finally felt himself relaxing at their support, relieved that he'd be able to carry out his part of the plan. 

"Thank you for your support, my lords." His voice rose above the rest. "Tonight, we will feast. Tomorrow we will begin our march on King's Landing."

Cheers went up and the kitchen staff brought out the food and ale, laying it out on the tables, as he retook his seat next to Davos. The Lords seemed to get caught up in the food and drink giving him the opportunity to take a breath.

Davos leaned over to speak to him quietly. "You did good."

"You really think so?" He asked. 

"Truly." Davos nodded. "For a bastard boy who was raised outside of all of this propriety, you were well spoken. And you gained their support so that's not for nothing."

"But are they loyal to me or my name?" Gendry asked. "I don't want them to follow me just because my last name is Baratheon."

"Right now, it might just be your name which I know you might not like but it helps right now. Once the war is fought and won, you can give them the opportunity to see who you are and eventually they'll support _you._ " Davos said. "I truly believe that you'll be a good lord, fair and just, and in time they'll see that too."

"I hope so." He said. "I didn't ask to be a lord but now that I am, I want to be good. I want to help the people who follow me."

"You will." Davos smiled. "And your wife will help you. I believe that the two of you will build something great here, something that will be remembered long after you're gone."

"Yeah." Gendry said absently as he thought the words over. He liked the sound of them.


	15. Chapter 15

In the following weeks they finally reached King's Landing but they made sure to stay far enough away to stay out of the range of the scorpions that were mounted on the city walls. Cersei had sent out groups of Lannister soldiers to attack their camp for the first week but when less and less of them came back she stopped sending them, They lost a few soldiers on their side during the attacks as well but nowhere near as many as Cersei had. Cersei had to be aware by now that she was trapped and Jon seemed to think that it would push her to surrender but Arya knew that sometimes a caged animal was more dangerous so she made sure to stay alert.

Daenerys had flown Drogon to check on the other parts of their army, flying high enough that the scorpion bolts couldn't reach her, and had brought back the information that both Samwell Tarly and Gendry had managed to rally their bannermen and had taken up their positions for the siege. They had a small setback with Yara Greyjoy and the Ironborn as they'd managed to take out most of Euron's fleet but hadn't managed to get to him or the last few ships in his command. Yara had adjusted the plan and blocked the opening to the port, trapping the remaining ships inside where they couldn't engage in battle given the limited space. 

Everything was in place and now it was just a waiting game. Cersei had a stock of food inside but it wouldn't last forever and the people of King's Landing were already in unrest because of the incident with the Sept and it wouldn't take much to push them into full revolt. Arya didn't expect this siege to last very long, either Cersei would lash out and they'd be forced to retaliate or the situation inside King's Landing would reach a boiling point and descend into chaos allowing them to take the city easily.

While they were waiting for one or the other to happen Arya noticed that her body had started showing signs of the life growing inside her. There was a soft swelling low in her belly between her hips that hadn't been there before. She knew that no one else would be able to tell just yet, especially when she was dressed in her tunic and jerkin, but at night when she dressed for bed she noticed it. She was sad that she couldn't share the moment with Gendry but she knew she couldn't let herself dwell on that too much right now.

Sometimes she found herself running her hand over the slight bump and had to force herself to stop so as to not draw attention to it but Sansa had noticed it almost immediately and had practically dragged her back to her tent so she could get a look at it. Her sister had spent quite a while just running her hand along the skin gently with a soft look on her face before she had immediately began sewing clothes for the babe. Arya told her that it wasn't really necessary but Sansa wouldn't hear it so she left her to it.

Ghost was still following her everywhere and growled at anyone that even looked at her for too long but she managed to calm him down most of the time. Jon had spent the time since they'd stopped mostly in the presence of Dany and the dragons as they assessed how well Rhaegal was healing and they both seemed to be happy with his progress. She and her brother hadn't had much time to speak in the last few weeks but she'd finally managed to get a moment with him and he'd led her slightly away from the camp to allow for a little bit of privacy.

"How are you feeling?" He asked. "I remember when your mother was pregnant and each time she would always be tired and usually sick."

"I'm fine." She answered. "I was sick at the beginning but only for a short while and I'm a little more tired than usual but it's nothing serious."

"You seem happy." Jon said and she smiled.

"I am." She said. "I love Gendry and this babe is a part of us both. It's kind of amazing really."

"I'm glad you found him, you know." Jon said, looking at her seriously. "You're my little sister and I remember you as that little girl who hated marriage but I can see that's changed now. I'm glad that you got the chance to choose who you married and I'm glad that it's someone who would never ask you to change who your re to fit some image of a perfect lady. He's good for you."

"He is." Arya nodded before a grin crossed her face. "You know, I fancied him quite a lot when we were younger."

"Ugh Arya, I don't want to know that." Jon exclaimed. "He promised me that nothing happened between the two of you then."

"It didn't." She laughed. "I was just a kid. I don't even think he noticed my fascination with him even with how obvious I was, it's just funny to think about now."

"Did you love him?" Jon asked, genuine curiosity in his voice. 

"I did." She admitted. "I remember being in love with him then, before we got separated, but in our time apart it kind of faded into the background. I was busy trying to survive so I never allowed myself to think of him much but then I saw him ride into Winterfell with you and Dany and it all came flooding back. I think that's why I chose him the night before the battle. I could have chosen anyone, there were plenty of willing men all around, but I wanted to spend what might be my final night with the one person I'd been in love with since I knew what it meant."

"I still don't like that he laid with you when you weren't married but I'm glad that he loves you and that you feel the same way." Jon told her. 

"You know, you keep bringing up the fact that we laid together before we were married but you and Dany aren't married either." She said, raising an eyebrow at him. "And everyone knows that the two of you share a bed."

"That's different." Jon protested.

"It's really not." Arya pointed out before taking a moment to study his face. "I know you love her and it's obvious that she loves you too. Why don't you get married?"

"Do you think she would say yes if I asked her?" Jon asked, looking at her seriously.

"I do." She nodded. "As I said you love each other and more than that, it would be a great political move. For one, it would unite the Stark and Targaryen families in the eyes of the Seven Kingdoms. Secondly, if the truth about your parentage was ever somehow discovered then no one would challenge her place on the throne because your marriage would unite your claims and you'd already be her King Consort."

"I've been thinking about asking her." Jon confided. "But if she says yes, I think that it might be best to wait until after the war is won to announce that we're getting married."

"That's probably smart." Arya nodded. "People will need something to celebrate after the fighting finally ends."

"Yeah." Jon said with a nod, his gaze faraway.

"Where is Dany?" Arya asked. "I don't think I've seen her all day."

"She was feeling sick earlier so she went back to our tent to rest for a bit." He said.

"Oh." Arya said. "Perhaps I should go check on her."

"I can do that." Jon said and Arya gave him a look.

"You're supposed to be helping the others take inventory of our food supply and weapons." She reminded him. "I pulled you away from it because I hadn't talked to you in a while and I wanted to catch up but they're probably still going through it."

"Right." He nodded jerkily. "I should probably get back then."

"She'll be fine Jon." She told him seriously. "And you'll see her later."

"I know." He said.

She could tell that he was still a little stressed when he left to go back to what he had been doing but he didn't complain so she left him too it. She could check on Daenerys and then hopefully take a short nap before waking up to keep watch.

* * *

When she stepped into the tent, Ghost left her side immediately to make his way over to Dany and sniff around her. Dany put out a hand to pat him lightly on the head as Missandei brought her a cup filled with steaming tea, which she sipped at lightly. 

"Jon told me you weren't feeling the best so I thought I'd check in and see how you were doing." Arya said as she made her way over to sit in the chair beside Missandei.

"I think maybe it was just a combination of stress and being exhausted that made me a bit ill." Daenerys said. "I feel much better now that I've rested for a bit."

"That's good." Arya said. 

"I told her that she's pushing herself too hard." Missandei said. "She can't do everything on her own."

"I'm fine." Daenerys said, giving her friend an exasperated smile. "It's just that the march south took longer than expected and coordinating the whole siege took a lot of work. I haven't been getting as much sleep as I should be."

Arya noticed that Ghost was still sniffing at Daenerys even as she ran her hand through his fur and he kept sticking his nose to her belly before cocking his head to the side as if he was trying to work something out and it hit Arya that the gesture was familiar from the wolf. He'd done it to _her_.

"Are you sure it's just stress and exhaustion?" Arya asked seriously. Daenerys seemed to notice her change in tone because she looked at her intently and even Missandei glanced at her.

"What else would it be?" She asked and Arya cleared her throat.

"It's just that I noticed Ghost's reaction and it's something that he did to me." She said, trying to be vague and hoping that Dany would understand as she didn't know if she'd want Missandei to know what she suspected.

"What do you mean?" Dany asked, genuine confusion on her face crushing any hope Arya had for her to pick up her meaning.

"He keeps sticking his nose to your belly and cocking his head like he's confused." Arya told her, glancing at Missandei before continuing. "He did the same to me when he discovered that I was with child."

"I can't have children." Daenerys said immediately.

"Who told you that?" Arya asked.

"The witch who killed my husband." Daenerys answered.

"And you believed her?" Arya asked incredulously.

"I had a lover in Meereen and my womb never quickened with a child." Daenerys told her. "If she was not telling the truth, I likely would have had a child by now."

"Did it ever occur to you that he might be the problem?" Arya asked. "Perhaps your lover could not father children and that's why you never got with child."

"I can't be pregnant." Daenerys said, denial clear in her voice.

"It's the only reason for Ghost to act as he is." Arya said seriously. 

"Have you had your moonblood?" Missandei asked, seeming to agree with Arya.

"I..." Dany sat up on the cot with wide eyes. "I haven't bleed since we left Winterfell a moon turn ago. I didn't think about it, she said I could never have children."

"She was wrong." Arya said gently.

"By the Gods." Daenerys breathed out quietly, her hand settling on her belly. 

"It's a blessing." Missandei said quietly. 

"It truly is." Daenerys said before she seemed to shake herself and she turned to look at both of them seriously. "We can't tell Jon, not until I'm sure."

"Dany..." Arya started.

"Please Arya." She said quietly, looking at her pleadingly. "If I tell him now and we're wrong, he'll be devastated. Let's just wait, for a short time, until I can have it confirmed by a maester and then I promise I'll tell him."

"Okay." Arya agreed quietly. 

"I promise not to say anything." Missandei said.

"Okay." Daenerys nodded jerkily. "Good."

Ghost once again put his nose to her belly and kept it there for a long moment before he looked up at her. Arya didn't need a maester, she knew that Daenerys was carrying a child, but she'd respect her wishes to wait. It seemed that their family was going to grow quite a lot in the years to come. 


	16. Chapter 16

Being part of a siege was largely sitting outside the city walls and doing nothing, which was to say, it was boring. After the first week, he was already tired of the lack of action which was ironic seeing as he'd been complaining about all of the fighting just the week before. Many of his bannermen found other ways to entertain themselves that included mostly drinking, singing, and target practice, sometimes all at once but he refrained from indulging in any of it. When he wasn't patrolling to look for any possible threats he was usually sitting by his tent or playing with Nymeria while trying not to think to much about Arya and how much he missed her.

He did make an effort to speak to his bannermen and familiarize himself with them though, attempting to foster a good relationship with each of them, and he thought that he was doing a pretty good job of it. Davos assured him that his assessment was correct and that the other lords seemed to respect him for his straightforward attitude which he was grateful for. As if summoned by his thoughts, the old man came over to sit next to him.

"From what I've heard, I expect our siege to be a short one." He said. Gendry looked at him in question and he continued. "Unrest grows in the city with each passing day as we've stopped supplies from going in. It won't take much more to spark a revolt in the people of King's Landing."

"Good." He blew out a breath. "I thought the fighting was bad but waiting like this is like to drive me spare soon."

"Hmm." Davos hummed in agreement. "I fear what idling too long will do to our forces. They're already restless."

"Restlessness makes for reckless decisions." He said, his eyes trailing over the soldiers closest to him. "It wouldn't do for our men too become too bored. They might decide to do something stupid."

"Very true." Davos nodded.

Gendry was still thinking of what to say in response when he heard the familiar screech of Drogon and he knew that Daenerys was coming to check in with them once more as she had almost every week since the siege had truly began. He stood and started making his way toward the clearing that she always landed in when she came, ignoring the wary looks of the men around him. They still hadn't gotten used to the huge dragon that Daenerys rode and they were all still a bit wary of Daenerys herself. He knew that they would eventually grow used to it as he and almost everyone in Winterfell had.

When he got to the clearing, Daenerys was already on the ground and moving toward him as Drogon watched intently. The dragon had sniffed at him the first time that she'd flown him to check in on them and he'd been sure that he was about to be roasted alive but surprisingly he hadn't been. The dragon had almost seemed to be happy when he'd sniffed at him, which he'd found strange, but Daenerys told him that it was likely because he carried Targaryen blood. It was distant and no where near as strong as hers but apparently the dragon still recognized it.

Daenerys embraced him once she got close enough and he returned the hug before stepping back to greet her more formally with Davos following his lead a few steps behind him. He noticed Nymeria leaving his side to sniff at Daenerys in a seemingly curious way until her nose pressed to her stomach and his eyes widened as he recognized the motion from when she - and Ghost - had done it to Arya.

"I came to check in with your contingent." She said, glancing at the soldiers watching them from a bit further away. "I wanted to see of you had need of anything like supplies or food."

"We're fine." He told her. "Many of my bannermen brought food and supplies along with them to add to the stock we already had."

"That's good." She smiled.

"It is." He agreed. "Is it true what we've heard? The siege isn't expected to last much longer?"

"Hopefully not. I want to take the city with minimal loss of life so I'm hoping that something will spark a revolt soon because we all know that Cersei will never surrender willingly." She said, her mouth twisting into a frown. She glanced around and, upon realizing that their conversation was relatively private apart from Davos, she stepped closer to him. "Jon and I have been discussing sending some of our men into the city through the tunnels underneath it to help with the fighting."

"That's probably a good idea." He agreed with a nod. "The common people exceed the Lannister forces in number but many of them don't know how to fight or even have the weapons for it. If they do revolt, having trained soldiers among them would lessen the loss of life."

"That's what we thought too." Daenerys confided. "I want to minimize the damage done to the common people if I can and that was my solution. It's worked for me before when taking Yunkai in Essos, I don't see why it can't work here."

"It's a good plan." He assured her. "The sooner Cersei is defeated, the better it will be for everyone."

"That's certainly true." She said letting out a long breath. They went quiet for a moment before he looked at her seriously.

"How is she?" He asked and they both knew who he was referring to.

"She's fine." Daenerys said, giving him a reassuring smile. "And so is the babe."

"Good." He breathed out, nodding absently.

"She misses you." Daenerys said, her smile softening.

"I miss her too." He said quietly. "I can't wait for all of this to be over."

"Soon." She said and the word sounded like a promise. She touched his shoulder lightly. "And then we can build a better world for our children."

"I like the sound of that." He said. She nodded and began to turn away, back toward her dragon.

"I need to get back." She said. "I'll tell your wife that you miss her just as much as she misses you."

"Dany." He called out and her steps stopped as she glanced over her shoulder at him with a question on her face. His eyes dropped down to her belly for a moment before coming back up to meet hers. "Congratulations."

She smiled lightly.

"Thank you." She said before moving to climb onto Drogon and he had to shield his eyes from the dirt that flew up as the large dragon flapped his wings and lifted into the sky.

"It seems that the Stark saying is correct." Davos said quietly, stepping up next to him as they watched the dragon disappear on the horizon. "The pack survives."

"Aye." He said, a smile crossing his face. 

* * *

Later that night, as he sat around a fire with his bannermen and the pheasants that had been hunted that day roasted over it, his men seemed to have decided that they wanted to know more about their new lord. They asked about his upbringing, his time as a smith's apprentice, the battle in Winterfell, and everything in between. None of them were rude about it and seemed genuinely interested in what he was saying which he was happy about. None of them seemed to care that he had been born a bastard in the back of some tavern in King's Landing which he hadn't expected. Then, they started asking about Arya.

"So, Lord Baratheon, you mentioned you had a wife but you haven't spoken much about her and I find myself curious." Lord Tarth said.

"Aye." Lord Estermont agreed, nodding to Nymeria. "She must be quite a lady to have that magnificent creature as a companion."

A smile spread across his face of it's own accord as he thought about Arya.

"She's amazing." He said, not even caring that he sounded like a lovestruck sap. 

"Did you meet her in Winterfell?" Lord Tarth asked. His smile dimmed a little as he remembered the circumstances of their meeting but he didn't let it dull his mood too much as he spoke to them.

"No. We actually met in King's Landing when we were just children." He explained. "Her father had just been executed and one of the brothers of the Night's Watch was smuggling her out of the city to take back to her family in the North and my master had sold me to the watch to get me out of King's Landing before Cersei and Joffery ordered the execution of all of King Robert's bastards."

"So, you knew each other for years before you married?" Lord Tarth asked and he nodded.

"Yes." He said simply. "We traveled together for years before we were separated and we met again when I went to Winterfell with her brother."

"What was your relationship like before you were separated? I can't imagine it was the same as it was when you met again." Lord Estermont said and Davos gave him a look of warning from across the fire. He knew that the old man was warning him not to say something that would cause the men to question Arya's virtue."

"It was nowhere near the same." He told them, a grin spreading across his face. "She was a pain in the ass, truthfully. She was a natural leader though and she took up that role in our group even though she was the youngest. She had this look that always made you feel as if you were being scolded by your own mother, it was infuriating. But, we went through hell together and there are some things that you can't experience without becoming friends, so that's what we were." His voice went soft as he got lost in the memories of the little girl who called herself Arry, who he'd loved even then before he'd understood anything else. "Anyway, she was my best friend and I was hers. We protected each other."

"How did you two become separated?" Lord Tarth asked, his voice soft and hesitant as if he was wondering if he even should.

"I was a fucking idiot." He said blowing out a long breath. 

"Lad." Davos said, his voice disapproving. "The Brotherhood sold you. You couldn't have prevented it."

"That's not what I'm talking about." He disagreed, getting to his feet. "I'm done talking about this."

He spun on his heal and walked away, Nymeria following at his heals, and he heard Davos sigh heavily behind him.

"I feel like I'm missing something." Lord Estermont commented.

"You are." Davos said without elaborating. He didn't care, he left them behind to talk about what he had said and speculate about what he hadn't. At that moment, he wasn't concerned with what they said.

He practically fell into his cot after entering his tent and he blew out a long breath as his mind was filled with regrets. He knew logically that Arya had forgiven him for that long ago conversation because they'd spoken about it but he'd come to realize that maybe, he hadn't forgiven _himself_ for it. It was complicated, he knew, but for some reason it was still weighing on him even now. His rejection of her and her offer of family, it felt like something he shouldn't be forgiven for, and he knew that was stupid and probably unhealthy to think but he couldn't help it. 

He couldn't wait for this damn war to end so he could spend the rest of his life by her side and do everything in his power to make up for it.


	17. Chapter 17

The group of soldiers that they were planning to send into the city were getting ready and speaking to Jon about their orders when they actually got inside so she was waiting near the edge of the group with the intent to speak to her brother after he had finished with them. They'd all changed into different clothes that would make it easier for them to blend in with the smallfolk in the city in the hope that the Lannister forces or Cersei wouldn't realize they were there until it was too late. She knew that Cersei had no concern for the smallfolk so she doubted that she'd note the unfamiliar faces as she probably didn't know what any of them looked like to begin with.

When Jon finally stepped away from them she stepped into his path and took his arm to lead him into his tent. He looked at her in question but she didn't say anything until they were out of sight of the others, apart from Daenerys who had already been inside the tent herself.

"What's going on, Arya?" Jon asked and she took a deep breath. She knew he wasn't going to like what she was about to say.

"I'm going to go with the others into the city." She said.

"Absolutely not." Jon said immediately, his voice stern, and she gave him a look.

"I wasn't asking for permission." She said. "I was just informing you of what was happening."

"You're with child!" He exclaimed.

"I'm well aware of that." She said. "And that's exactly why I need to go with them. I want my child to grow up in a better world than we did and that can only happen if Cersei Lannister dies."

"And how is you going into the city going to help with that?" He asked. She gave him a look.

"I trained for this for years, Jon." She said. "I can end this war."

"You're talking about killing her yourself." He said, his voice astonished.

"I am." She nodded. "I can do it, Jon. You have to trust me."

"How do you plan to get close to her?" Daenerys asked, finally joining the conversation. "We're in the middle of a siege. I doubt that she just lets anyone waltz into her chambers."

"That's just it though." Arya said, looking at both of them. "I trained with the Faceless Men in Braavos. I can become someone else, someone that she trusts, to get close to her."

"You'll be putting yourself, and your child, in danger." Jon said.

"I can handle it." She said seriously. "If I thought that I couldn't do this without harming my babe, I wouldn't, but I know that I can. I can kill her."

"Say that we agree." Daenerys said, touching Jon's arm lightly when he opened his mouth to argue. "How would we know when you'd done it? You might need help even after her death if the Lannister forces still attempt to fight. How would we know when to come in and help discourage that action?"

"I'll ring the bells." She said, having already thought of it. "When you hear the bells, you'll know that she's dead."

"I still don't agree with this." Jon said. "We can find another way."

"There are other ways, that's true." Arya said. "But none that will end the war as quickly or minimize the amount of blood that is spilled."

"She has a point, Jon." Daenerys said. "The sooner this war ends, the better it will be for everyone, and if she believes that she can do this then I'll trust her judgement."

"It's dangerous." He said stubbornly. "You could die."

"I could die in an attempt to take the city or in the subsequent battle that would come after too." She said. "This is our best plan. This will end the war the fastest."

"And what am I supposed to tell your husband?" Jon asked and she sighed.

"Gendry trusts me. He'll know that I've thought this through thoroughly." She said. "He's not going to like it but he'll understand."

"Okay." Daenerys said, ignoring the look Jon gave her. "Go with them but please, be careful."

"I will." She said, her eyes turning to meet Jon's. "I promise."

He moved to hug her tightly and she returned the embrace easily, holding onto him for a long moment, before she stepped back. 

"Be safe." He said quietly and she nodded.

"You too." She replied.

After that, everything happened fairly quickly in terms of finishing up preparations to go into the city but they still had to wait until nightfall so they could use the cover of the shadows to sneak into the tunnels underneath the city. When nightfall did come though, she had to work hard to get Ghost to stay with Jon instead of following her because he definitely would have stuck out in the city and eventually Jon had to put him into a makeshift pen until she was gone. He whined the whole time and she felt a little bad about it but she knew it was for the best.

Jamie Lannister led them to the tunnels and they all followed behind him as a group so as not to get lost. She kept on guard just in case Cersei had decided to put guards on the tunnels but the further they went into them the more it seemed that the she hadn't even thought of them. Arya wondered if she even knew the extent of the tunnels beneath the city or not. Maybe she did and just didn't see them as a legitimate place for a threat to come from. Whatever the case, they didn't encounter any sort of resistance and were able to come out of the tunnels and into the city quite easily.

"What orders did Jon give you?" Arya asked, turning to look at Jamie and Brienne.

"He told us to split the group once we got into the city to avoid detection." Brienne said. "One group is meant to be disabling the scorpions mounted on the walls and the other is meant to spread out through the city so that they'll be in place to protect the people when the time comes."

"I'll be leading the group that's disabling the scorpions." Jamie said. "I'm familiar with the city and have a better chance of moving through without detection."

"And I'll be leading the other group." Brienne said. Arya nodded.

"It's a good plan." She said, looking at each of them. "I have a different mission so If I disappear, don't worry about me. When you hear the bells ringing though, know that it's time. Jon and Daenerys will attack with the rest of the army then and you'll need to be in place to protect the smallfolk."

"Alright." Brienne nodded but Jamie was looking at her with a strange expression on his face.

"You're going to kill her aren't you?" He asked. She looked at him, not sure whether she should tell him the truth or not, before he nodded and dropped his eyes to the ground. "I just have one request."

"What?" She asked cautiously. He glanced up to meet her eyes.

"I know I have no right to ask and I know that she has committed terrible crimes against your family but..." He sighed. "When you do kill her, please make it quick."

"I don't relish in torture." She assured him. "I just want this to be over." 

"I understand." He said with a nod. They stood there together in silence for a moment longer before Brienne cleared her throat.

"We should get started then." She said. They nodded and, with those words, finally separated from one another.

* * *

Arya had stayed with Brienne for a time, making sure that the soldiers with her got settled inconspicuously, before she slipped away into the darkness. She needed to make iit to the Red Keep because that's where Cersei was and she knew that the woman would not be coming out any time soon.

She kept to the shadows and alleyways as she made her way towards the bay. She remembered the tunnel that she'd taken when she was a child that led out from the dungeon so it made sense that she could make her way back inside the Keep through there as well. She'd left Needle at the camp with Jon, knowing that it would be too conspicuous of a weapon to carry but she kept the Catspaw dagger with her because it was easier to conceal and she hoped that it was enough to complete her mission.

As she was sneaking through the alleys, she noted that not many people seemed to be out that night. They were all already sequestered in their homes or inside the taverns drinking away their worries so when she heard footsteps and the sound of someone whistling a happy tune, she was quick to hide herself away, thinking that it might be the city watch. When she peaked out though, she found that it wasn't a goldcloak at all.

It was a man. His clothing was ragged but still fancy enough that she pegged him for a highborn of some sort and she wondered why he'd be wondering around the streets of King's Landing this late at night. She watched him as he walked along, trying to determine his purpose. He wore dark clothing, and she noted that he wore many jewels on his hands. He didn't seem to care about his surroundings, as if he wasn't afraid of any thief attempting to steal his purse, and the way he carried himself told her that he may be overconfident in his own abilities. She stared at him a little longer and it finally became clear to her who he was. He turned a corner and she was able to see the sigil sewn into the back of his shirt.

A kraken. With a red eye in the middle.

This man was Euron Greyjoy, Theon and Yara's uncle. Her feet carried her after him almost without conscious thought, but she still had the wherewithal to remain hidden in the shadows as she trailed him. He had a sword and she knew that if he saw her coming then it could end very badly for her so she waited and calculated her next move in her head. Euron was one of Cersei's only remaining allies, apart from the Golden Company, and arguably the most powerful. Taking him out would help greatly.

She followed him until they were almost to the docks before an idea occurred to her and she pulled her dagger from her belt. It wasn't a throwing dagger and hadn't been made for that purpose but she supposed it could still work in her favor. She waited until he was directly in front of another alleyway before she took a deep breath and center herself. She loosed the dagger from her hand, praying to all the gods that it hit it's mark, and she watched as he went down. 

She rushed froward and dragged him into the alley he'd been walking by before anyone could see him and yanked her dagger out of his neck. He wasn't dead yet, his grasping hands were proof of that, but he was no threat to her. She knew that she couldn't leave him in the ally, someone would be sure to find him come morning, so she stepped away from him and peeked her head out to check her surroundings. 

There were no city watchmen around and not a single soul to tell anyone anything. She had to wonder if the gods were looking in on her that night as things had gone far too smoothly for any other explanation to make sense but she couldn't allow herself to dwell on it for too long. When she turned back to Euron, the ground beneath him covered in blood and his body seemed to have finally given up as he stared at the sky with sightless eyes. She sighed before moving closer cautiously and checking him over for weapons.

He had actual throwing daggers on him, which she took and tucked onto her own belt, before removing his sword as well. She strapped his sword to her side for easy carrying before grabbing him under the arms and dragging him back out of the alley and the rest of the way to the beach, which thankfully hadn't been that far, and dropped him to the ground. She filled his pockets with heavy rocks before rolling him into the sea and waiting until his body sunk so that she could be sure he wouldn't be found easily.

She used the ocean to wash the blood from her hands and took his sword from her belt to hide among the rocks as she had done for her own sword in Braavos years before. She'd give it to Yara after the war ended if the other woman wanted it, she decided. 

After ensuring that his body was disposed of, she continued on her original mission and once again went in search of the tunnel that led into the bay. It was easier to find than she expected considering that Tyrion had used it to meet with his brother in secret. She had thought that Cersei would have at least tried to hide the entrance to it after that but it was still free and clear for anyone to wonder into. Still, she moved through it with caution, her steps slow and steady. She made sure to make as little noise as possible just in case there were guards stationed at the entrance from the other side, she didn't want them to be aware that she was here, but the closer she got the more obvious it became that she was alone.

As she came out of the tunnel and into the dungeons of the Red Keep with no resistance, she found herself wondering if Cersei was truly mad. Maybe the woman believed that she was too powerful to be beaten or maybe she had led herself to believe that she was invincible, either way, she had taken no measures to protect herself in a way that truly mattered. She'd added scorpions to the walls of King's Landing and had called the entire Lannister army in to defend her but she hadn't put guards on the one tunnel that she _knew_ was there. It was unfathomable.

She had let her desire to hold onto her power give her blind spots. She was doing everything she could to defend from the obvious threat from Daenerys and her dragons but she'd forgotten to prepare for the less visible threat of an assassin. Arya wondered if the thought had even crossed her mind. She supposed it didn't matter anymore, it would all be over for her soon anyway. Her blind spot would become glaringly obvious to her then.

Arya stood in the dungeon long enough to put on the face of the serving girl she'd used to kill Walder Frey and hide her weapons away in the skirts of the dress she'd put on before making her way up into the main keep. She couldn't afford to dwell on her enemies mindset for any longer. She had a job to do.


	18. Chapter 18

Davos came into his tent bright and early the next morning urging him to come for a walk with him. Nymeria raised her head and let out a sound similar to an annoyed huff s she looked at the man before she got to her feet and followed them out of the tent. He found that a lot of the men were already up and moving about as well and most of them greeted him cautiously as he passed. He knew they were all probably concerned that he was going to have some sort of outburst if they said the wrong thing on account of his emotional response the night before so he did his best to return their greetings kindly to reassure them.

Davos led him further away from the group and they entered the sparse trees that surrounded their camp. He wasn't sure what the older man wanted but he knew that it likely wasn't just an early morning walk. His suspicions were proven correct when Davos stopped a few feet into the trees and turned to look at him seriously.

"Are you alright, lad?" He asked.

"I'm fine." He answered immediately but the look Davos gave him told him that the man didn't believe him.

"Last night you got a bit....emotional, when you were telling the other men your story and about Lady Arya." Davos said, looking at him with a serious expression.

"I know." He sighed. "But I swear, I'm okay."

"I don't know what happened between you and Lady Arya back then but I can tell you that she loves you." Davos said. "You're the only person that she allows herself to be vulnerable with, I could see that even without knowing much about her. I don't think she blames you for anything that happened back then and she accepts you for who you are now. You shouldn't keep blaming yourself for things that weren't your fault."

"But it was my fault." He said, running his hand through his hair.

"You didn't ask the Red Witch to take you." Davos reasoned and Gendry sighed heavily.

"That's not what I'm talking about." He said.

"Last night, it seemed as if we were all missing something." Davos said cautiously. "Like there was a part of the story we didn't know. Is that the reason you keep blaming yourself for everything?"

"She asked me to be her family." Gendry said, his voice low. "Back then, before we got separated, she wanted me to leave the Brotherhood with her and go to find her brother. I said no. I told her that we couldn't be family because she was a lady and I was a low born bastard. I hurt her that night, I know that, and I can't ever take that away or make it better. I keep thinking that if I'd gone with her when she asked then maybe things would have been different, maybe she wouldn't have gone through everything she did."

"You can't know that." Davos said immediately. "If you'd gone with her maybe things would have turned out differently but maybe they'd be worse than they are now or maybe they'd be better, you never know. You can't dwell on the past, son. If we spent all of our time worrying about the what ifs in life, we'd never be able to appreciate everything we have now."

"But I screwed up. I hurt her." He said. It was that fact that he was hung up on and couldn't let go, the fact that he'd hurt her, because it was the one thing he never wanted to do.

"Yes, but it's obvious that she's forgiven you for it." Davos said. "And now you need to forgive yourself. It's okay."

"I never wanted to hurt her." He said softly.

"And I'm sure she knows that." Davos said gently. "We all make mistakes lad but she loves you and you love her and that's all that matters now."

Gendry took a moment to process the other man's words and truly think them over. Davos was right, Arya has already forgiven him for that long ago transgression, she'd said as much herself, and it was time for him to let go of it all. He'd fucked up when he was younger and didn't understand all the things he was feeling and what they meant but he and Arya had moved past it. It meant that he didn't need to dwell on it, it was a part of their history, but that's all it was. It was one piece of their story, not the end of it, and it was better left in the past.

"Okay." He said, a sigh leaving his lips as he met the older man's eyes. "You're right. I don't need to dwell on it, it's in the past."

"Yes, it is." Davos said, giving him a smile. "And now, you can focus on the future that the two of you will share."

"It's going to be a good future, I hope." Gendry said.

"I believe it will be." Davos said. "The Gods owe it to both of you."

"I don't know if I believe in the Gods but if they're real I think they owe everyone a good future." Gendry said. "We've all been through hell the last few years. We could all do with some good years to balance it out."

"That's the simple truth." Davos agreed.

They started making their way back to camp not long after and ran into one of the Unsullied soldiers that Daenerys had sent with them who had apparently been looking for them. He informed them that Jon had come to the camp on Rhaegal and was waiting in his tent for him. He found it strange as Daenerys had just visited them and she usually only visited every couple of weeks. It was because of this that his mind immediately jumped to something being wrong and his heart started beating faster as he rushed back to camp behind the Unsullied soldier.

* * *

Jon was standing in the center of the tent with his hands clasped behind his back and his eye lifted from the floor to meet Gendry's when he came sweeping into the tent. Davos entered behind him and the Unsullied soldier left them alone. Nymeria came to his side and leaned against him, obviously sensing the tension in his body.

"What happened?" He asked immediately. Jon raised his hands in a calming gesture.

"Arya's fine." He said, obviously knowing what Gendry was concerned about. "But she has done something that I don't think you're going to like too much."

"What did she do?" He asked, already cautious.

"Daenerys and I sent a group of soldiers into the city, you were already aware of this of course, but what you weren't aware of is that Arya went with them." He said and Gendry blew out a long breath.

"You let her go with them?" Davos asked.

"I couldn't have prevented her from going." Jon said. "My sister is stubborn on the best days but once she gets an idea in her head she pursues it steadfastly, not paying any mind to anyone else's opinions. I tried to convince her not to go but she didn't listen."

"She's going to kill the queen." Gendry said, looking at Jon. "That's why she went with the others isn't it? It wasn't to protect the smallfolk."

"Yes." Jon said. "She said that she could do it. She told me that she wouldn't go in if she thought that it would put her or the babe at risk but she's confident that she can pull it off."

"I trust her." He said, though his heart didn't seem to agree as it was still racing and his mind was full of panicked thoughts. He did his best to appear confident as he didn't want to let either man see how scared he truly was. "If she says she can do it, I have to trust that she knows what she's talking about."

Jon seemed to study him for a long moment as if he was looking for a sign of a lie but Gendry kept his face as calm as he could manage and eventually Jon nodded. His eyes drifted over both of them before he began speaking again.

"Right well, she told us that when she had completed her task she would ring the bells in the city." He said, his lips pursed. "That is the signal for the attack to begin. Daenerys and I will be attacking with the dragons while the rest of the army attacks the gates. Your contingent of men are positioned almost perfectly to attack the southern gates at the same time."

"Almost perfectly?" Davos asked.

"The southern gate is about a days ride east from your current position so you should move your army today so that they'll be in position to attack when the time comes." Jon explained.

"We'll march that way the moment you depart." Gendry said and Jon nodded.

"The battle shouldn't last for too long once they realize that our numbers far outweigh theirs and their queen is dead. I imagine they'll surrender quite quickly." Jon said, his hand coming to rest on the hilt of his sword. "Still, we need to be prepared for any outcome and try to minimize the damage done to the smallfolk. They're not the enemy."

"We'll do our best on that front." Gendry assured him. "The smallfolk never asked for this war, they shouldn't be caught up in it."

"Very good." Jon nodded. "We have our plan then. It's time to end this war, once and for all."

"Yes, it is." Gendry agreed.

They were all quiet for a moment, taking the time to breathe for a moment and let it sink in that it was all going to be over soon. Gendry was glad for it, he was tired of fighting, but he just wished that Arya didn't have to put herself in so much danger to end it. He sent up a prayer to the Gods that he didn't really believe in that she'd be safe. She'd suffered so much in her short life that he felt, if they existed, that the Gods owed her a bit of reprieve. 

"We'll walk you back to Rhaegal." He said and Jon nodded.

He followed them out of the tent and Gendry noticed the curious glances from his men as they watched him lead Jon out of the camp. He knew that they must have some idea of who Jon was because they'd let him into the camp in the first place but they all seemed interested in their interactions anyway. He knew he'd have to explain to them what their meeting was about due to the fact that they needed to move but for now he ignored them. 

Once they were further away from the camp, Gendry noted that Nymeria was staying even closer to him that usual and he wondered if it had to do with the dragon they were approaching. She didn't seem as comfortable with the giant beasts as her brother was and it made him wonder if Ghost's attitude to the dragons had to do with his connection to Jon more than his natural disposition. Either way, Nymeria was glued to his side and her eyes never left the dragon in front of them. Rhaegal, for his part, didn't seem to care about Nymeria at all.

Jon turned to him as they stopped at the edge of the clearing. "She'll be okay."

Gendry was unsure if Jon was trying to convince him or if he was trying to convince himself but he appreciated it either way.

"I know." He said, sounding more confident than he really was.

Jon nodded rapidly before stepping away from him and approaching his dragon to climb onto his back. It wasn't as graceful as when Daenerys did it but he got mounted all the same and he raised his hand in a wave. Gendry raised his hand to return the gesture and his cloak blew around him as Rhaegal took flight with his wings creating a big wind. Gendry only had one thought in his head as he watched Jon fly away : _Please don't take her away from me_.

He stood there for a few minutes longer before he ran his hands through Nymeria's fur and turned to walk back to camp. He'd been given a task and he needed to get his men moving. Arya would need them soon.


	19. Chapter 19

Once she made it into the Red Keep, she was quick to blend in with the rest of the servants but she made sure to take duties that put her close to Cersei. In result, she was stationed near the personal rooms and her duties included cleaning the floors and taking soiled clothes to the laundress but it gave her the opportunity to listen in to the conversations that Cersei had. She noted that Cersei spent much of her time with a large Kingsguard that always wore full armor, including a helm, that she knew to be Gregor Clegane who was supposed to be dead and an older man who wore Maester robes but instead of the typical white or grey, his robes were black. He also didn't wear a maester's chain which was strange but he did wear a pin marking him as the Hand of the Queen.

Listening to their conversations allowed her to realize that Cersei truly had forgotten about the tunnels because she didn't mention them even once. She seemed more concerned about the Scorpions mounted on the walls and seemed to believe that they would keep her safe. Cersei seemed extremely confident in herself and assured that she was going to win this war. It was like she didn't even truly realize that she was surrounded, or that she had but still believed she could win. It was obvious that she was lying to herself or else she had truly lost touch with reality. She was mad, just like everyone expected.

It was good for their cause because it meant that she wasn't thinking clearly so she wasn't seeing the threats against her as serious. She truly thought she could win which made her overconfident in everything she'd done to prepare for the fight. It also meant that she wasn't looking for threats within the Keep itself because she was so sure that there wasn't any. It would be her downfall.

Arya also noted that she definitely wasn't pregnant as she'd claimed to be. Both Jamie and Tyrion believed her to be carrying a child but Arya could see the truth of it as she looked at her. Cersei was wearing a formfitting outfit and there wasn't even a hint of a bump around her middle to indicate a pregnancy and she was meant to be further along than Arya herself was so the lack of it was a tale-tell sign of her deception. 

A plan started forming in her head by the end of the first day she was in the Keep to get close to and eliminate Cersei. Her first hurdle was coming up with a plan to get rid of Cersei's constant guard, which she knew she couldn't do until the rest of the plan was carried out, but since he was technically undead like the army they'd faced in the North she figured that fire should work just as well on him as it did them. With that in mind, when the sun rose on her second day within the walls of the Red keep her feet took her towards the maester's chambers to begin her plan.

She found the man alone inside the room just as she'd hoped and he turned to her with a smile when she cleared her throat. She moved toward the table he had set up in the center of the room to examine patients and sat down on it.

"What can I do for you child?" He asked, his voice soft and gentle. His entire friendly demeanor belied the true twisted personality beneath it and she found it a little chilling but she pushed past it and gave him a small smile back, making her shoulders hunch as if she was embarrassed to even be there, before launching into the story that she'd concocted as her reason for coming to him.

"I um....." She trailed of, clearing her throat as her eyes dropped to the ground. "I was hoping that you could help me."

"Tell me what's going on." He said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I promise that nothing you say will leave this room. I'm very good at digression."

She looked back up at him before wrapping her arms around her belly.

"I've made a terrible mistake." She said, making her voice come out soft and scared. "I was with a man who said that he cared about me so I gave myself to him but then.....then he left and I found out I'm with child." She made a few tears fall from her eyes. "I can't have a child. My parents will be so angry and I've got no where else to go. Please, is there anything that you can do for me?"

"What is it that you're asking child?" He asked, forcing her face up to meet his eyes.

"I heard some whores talkin' about something that you can take to cast the child out." She said, looking at him through teary eyes. "I have a bit of money that I saved back 'cause I wanted to leave King's Landing sometime but this is more important. I can pay you, just please. Help me."

"Of course." He said, turning his back to her to rummage around on a shelf full of vials. She took the opportunity to discretely pull the dagger she had strapped to her leg out and hide it in the folds of her dress and readied herself for what she needed to do.

He took a moment to find what it was that he was looking for but when he turned around he had a small bottle filled with liquid that he brought over to sit on the table next to her. She picked it up with one hand and turned it around to look at it before glancing at him through her lashes.

"So, I just drink this?" She asked softly.

"Yes." He nodded. "Make sure to drink all of it, it doesn't taste pleasant but it'll do the job. You're likely to have bleeding and cramping for a few days after but then it will all be over, as if it never happened in the first place."

"Thank you." She said, putting a note of relief and happiness in her voice. He stepped closer to her and she watched him cautiously.

"You can bring me the money tonight." He said.

"How much?" She asked and he shrugged.

"However much you have." He stated. "I can't imagine that it's a lot, probably not even enough to cover the cost of making it, but I'll call it even."

"You don't understand how much this helps." She said, throwing her arms around his neck. 

It was obvious that the movement surprised him but he began hugging her back after a moment and she knew that he wasn't expecting anything from her. She used the moment of surprise to grip the dagger tight in her hand and lift it to plunge into the side of his neck. She felt him jerk against her and she pulled back, yanking the dagger out as she did, and the blood sprayed out of his skin even as he pressed his hands to it trying to stem the flow. He had a look of surprise in his eyes but she'd hit him in just the right spot that he couldn't even call out for help.

She stepped toward him again and grabbed his arms to lower him to the ground. His body jerked frantically but she ignored it as she could tell by his slowed movements that he would be dead soon anyway. When he was flat on the ground, she moved away from him to quickly drop the bar across the door in order to prevent anyone from coming in as she was doing what she needed to. When she got back to him, the blood was pooling under his head and he was staring at the ceiling with sightless eyes so she got to work.

She used her dagger to cleanly remove his face and prepared it to be used before she dragged his body across the floor and lifted it onto the bed in the back corner. She wrapped his body tightly in a sheet before placing a second one over him and pulling the privacy screen across the floor to block the view of the bed entirely so that no one would notice his body if they came into the room. Next she cleaned the blood from the floor and made the room look as it did when she first entered. 

She dressed in the dark robes that he wore, clipping the pin on, before she began the process of assuming his face. Once she was finished, she glanced into the mirror on the wall to ensure that it had actually worked as it was supposed to before straightening her shoulders and moving to the shelf that he'd been looking through to search for anything that could help her. Just as she had expected, he had a large selection of poisons and she grabbed a vial of sweetsleep to slip into the inner pocket of the robes she wore before leaving the maesters quarters. She had a job to complete.

* * *

After assuming the form of Qyburn she let her steps take her toward the queen's rooms where she found Gregor Clegane outside the door. He moved aside as she approached and she knocked on the door before entering to find Cersei standing at the window that looked out onto the city. The woman glanced at her before going back to her staring and she closed the door firmly behind her, leaving Gregor on the other side. She approached Cersei slowly, coming to a stop only a few steps behind her as she looked out as well. 

"The war will end soon, Your Grace." She said, her voice coming out as Qyburn's. "The Dragon Queen is not known for her patience and they've already been waiting for weeks. She'll grow restless soon I imagine and when she finally does attack the men will take out the dragons."

"Her power is those dragons." Cersei agreed. "When they're dead, everyone who sided with her will realize their mistake."

"Even your brother?" She asked, curious how Cersei felt about them.

"Tyrion is a traitor, he will support her until his dying breath, which I will make sure comes swiftly." She snapped. 

"And Jamie?" She asked. Cersei's shoulders went stiff.

"He betrayed me." She said, her voice low and controlled. "He will be executed alongside our brother."

"Of course, Your Grace." She said, bowing her head in deference. Cersei seemed to accept the words as an apology as she moved closer to the window and placed her hands on the sill. "But, what if the scorpions miss their mark. Do you have a plan?"

"Even if the scorpions miss their mark and the Dragon Queen attacks the Keep with her dragons, she'll turn everyone in the Seven Kingdoms against her." She answered, a strange smile crossing her face that Arya didn't like.

"Is there something I should know?" She asked, her voice cautious and Cersei turned to look at her.

"You should already know, you're the one who told me about the wildfyre." She said. "There is a large cache of it below the Keep itself just as there was beneath the Great Sept, placed there by her own father. One spark and the entire thing will blow."

"And that's a good thing?" She asked, keeping her voice calm even as her heart began to race.

"If we lose this war, the fact that she blew up the Red Keep and likely half of the city with it will ensure that she still doesn't win. The entirety of the Seven Kingdoms will turn on her, especially if they believe that she knew about the wildfyre and attacked the Keep anyway."

"But if we're inside the Keep when it happens, we'll die." She said, trying to reason through Cersei's madness. 

"If she wins, we'll likely die anyway. Better to do it on our own terms." She said. "But that's just the fail safe, it won't actually happen. The men on the walls will kill her dragons and take her down with them and then her supporters will scatter and the war will be won."

"Of course, Your Grace." She repeated, agreeing with Cersei so that the woman wouldn't see anything suspicious in her demeanor.

Arya could tell that she truly believed what she was saying and that she'd managed to delude herself so thoroughly that she couldn't see any possible way that she'd lose even with no supporters and the rest of Westeros against her. She didn't know how someone could be as intelligent as Cersei and still be able to have such a huge oversight regarding the reality of the odds she was facing. It didn't really matter but it was still astounding to her.

She had given Arya something to think about during their conversation though. If she was right and there truly was a great cache of wildfyre beneath the Red Keep, she couldn't allow Jon and Dany to attack with the dragons. The risk was too high for them to set of a huge explosion that would be devastating to King's Landing.

When Cersei stepped away from the window, Arya shook herself from her thoughts and turned to the table in the corner of the room that held bottles of wine and she moved toward it, making sure to keep her posture casual. She grabbed a goblet and picked up a honeyed wine to fill it knowing that it would mask the taste of the sweetsleep she had brought with her. She slipped the vial from her pocket and tipped it into the wine, allowing it to mix in for a moment, before hiding it away once more and turning to carry the goblet to Cersei.

She was sitting on her bed, a thoughtful look on her face, and she accepted the goblet absently without even glancing in her direction. She folded her hands in front of her as she had observed Qyburn doing quiet often and watched as Cersei drank deeply from the goblet. 

"I think there's something that you've forgotten, Your Grace." She said to distract Cersei from the overly sweet taste and Cersei glanced at her.

"What?" She asked, her lips twisting as she looked at the cup in her hand.

"The tunnels under the city." She said, her eyebrows raising. "You haven't mentioned them once in your defense plans for King's Landing."

"Anyone who tried to use those tunnels would spend days trying to find their way out." Cersei scoffed even as she seemed to slump onto the bed. "There are miles of them under the city."

"Someone who was familiar with them could use them to get into the city easily, even into the Keep itself." She said as she grabbed the edge of the face she was wearing and began pulling it off. "You really shouldn't have neglected them."

She stared down at Cersei who looked up at her with wide eyes that seemed unfocused. The woman didn't even try to call out for help, she just seemed stunned to see Arya standing before her.

"Do you know who I am?" Arya asked.

"Lyanna." Cersei breathed out and Arya looked at her with a furrowed brow for a moment before she shook her head and forced herself to focus.

"I'm Arya Stark." She said, watching as Cersei seemed to process her words. "My face is the last thing you'll ever see. You've lost the war and all history will say about you is that you were a mad queen who was so obsessed with power that she pushed away everyone around her and caused the death of all of her children." Cersei stared up at her as her mouth worked slowly, seeming unable to say anything. "You will burn in the seven hells for what you've done, just like your monstrous son, and everyone will rejoice at the news of your death."

A smile crossed her lips as she watched Cersei's eyes slip closed and after a few minutes, her chest stopped lifting with breath. Arya watched her for a bit longer just to make sure that she actually was dead before she finally allowed herself to cross the last name off of her list. She took a moment to breathe and for her mind to realize that it was finally over before she began the same process that she'd gone through with Qyburn. She wrapped Cersei tightly in the sheets from her bed before covering her with the blanket and picking up the goblet that she'd dropped on the floor. 

She glanced around the room, noting the sconces on the wall that were burning brightly, and she shrugged as she plucked one from its holder and moved toward the door. Gregor turned immediately as the door opened and it was in that moment that she realized that she'd forgotten to put Qyburn's face back on because he went for his sword immediately. She knew that she wouldn't survive if he managed to hit her with it so she hastily shoved the burning sconce into his face before backing out of his range.

His body caught immediately but he kept moving toward her as if he didn't even realize and she ducked quickly as he swung the sword over her head. His other arm came out and slammed solidly into her shoulder, sending her to the floor and she rolled as his sword slammed onto the ground where she had been. The pain in her shoulder made her vision go blurry but she forced herself to push it away and stay alert.

Her eyes darted around the room as she dodged his blows and her eyes stopped on the hearth. There was a roaring fire inside of it and she took the opportunity to lead him in that direction. He followed exactly as she wanted and she waited until he was in the perfect position before she ducked his sword once more and rolled forward on the ground so that her feet connected solidly with the center of his chest, knocking him off balance and making it easier for her to shove him back into the fire. His body lit up like dry hay, the larger fire joining the small one from the sconce and she scrambled backwards as his sword dropped from his hand. 

She was breathing heavily as she moved away from him, keeping her eyes on his burning form just in case, until she made it to the door of the chambers once more. She moved out of it swiftly and slammed it behind her, leaning heavily on the wall outside the room. Her shoulder felt like fire was rushing through it with every movement and she was almost certain that it was either broken or bruised like hell. She jerked the robes she was wearing over her head, gritting her teeth against the pain, and ripped a long length off of it to tie it into a makeshift sling to prevent to much movement. 

After she was finished with that, she ran her hand over her belly thanking every god that she could think of that she hadn't gotten hit there. She took a few more minutes to catch her breath before she turned and walked away from the queen's chambers, not caring about the fire that was likely still burning inside, and her steps took her towards the entrance to the Red Keep. She knew that she needed to go to the bell tower but she was unsure if that was still a good idea or not.

If she rang the bells, Dany and Jon would begin the attack but they might accidentally set off the wildfyre. On the other hand, if she didn't ring them they might assume that something was wrong and attack anyway and she knew that if Jon thought something was wrong or that she was in trouble he'd come straight for the Keep before anything else, ensuring they'd set it off. It was better to ring the bells. She just had to hope that the battle would end before they reached the Red Keep.


	20. Chapter 20

He and the soldiers that were with him made it to the southern gate in a days time just as Jon had indicated they would and camped out for the night after they arrived. When they woke the next day, he could feel the palpable tension in the air as the group prepared for the battle ahead. Finally, late in the afternoon when the sun was high in the sky, the sound of bells rang out loud and clear on the wind and the entire camp launched into action.

The men lifted the large battering ram and began slamming it against the gate. The wood creaked in protest until it could no longer take the beating and burst open into the city. Gendry followed the stream of soldiers inside, slightly surprised that their entrance hadn't been met with more resistance, before launching into battle. Lines of knights dressed in red Lannister armor met them and the battle truly began. He noted the shadows of the two large dragons above the city and suspected that the battle wouldn't be a long one but, even still he couldn't afford to allow himself to be distracted.

Nymeria stuck close to his side, baring her teeth and growling as she took out a few soldiers that got to close to him while he was engaged in battle, and he knew that her presence helped as many of the Lannister soldiers gave him a wide berth as they received warning clips from her teeth. He was so caught up in the battle that he almost didn't notice Daenerys release a stream of flame from her perch atop Drogon but the screams of the soldiers reached his ears and he had to hope that the men who snuck in before them had cleared that particular street of common folk. 

He wasn't sure how long they engaged in battle, with Jon and Daenerys providing air support, before the Lannister soldiers finally seemed to accept defeat and drop their swords. The whole city seemed to hold it's breath as the sounds of battle faded to an almost eerie silence and they waited for the next move from either side. Gendry knew that the people around them were waiting to see what the Dragon Queen would do, to see if she was just as mad as her father, but he wasn't worried. He had faith in the kind woman that he'd gotten to know on the journey from Winterfell.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the dragons landed heavily on the ground and the men began gathering the Lannister soldiers who'd surrendered and marching them toward the courtyard outside the Red Keep. Gendry, for his part, leaned heavily on the nearest wall as he took a moment to catch his breath and stare up at the sky. He noted that the sun's position hadn't moved very much at all leading him to believe that the battle had been even shorter than he had thought, though he supposed it made sense. If he was fighting for someone like Cersei, who he didn't believe in or even particularly like, and he'd been faced with two full grown dragons and an army that outnumbered his, he'd probably have surrendered too.

After a few moments though, Nymeria began nudging him with her head and whimpering as she tried to direct him in the direction of the castle as if she knew that's where they'd find Arya. She probably did, she and Arya were always strangely aware of where the other was and he guessed that it had something to do with the warging and the obvious mystical connection that it gave them.

He pushed himself from the wall, patting her head lightly, and that's when he noticed that many of the Stormlords who'd answered his summons at the beginning of all of this where standing nearby with Davos as if they were waiting for a directive from him. It startled him to realize that they likely were as he was their Lord Paramount now, which he'd somehow managed to forget in the heat of battle.

"We should get to the Red Keep." He said, speaking loudly enough for his voice to carry to the gathered lords and the soldiers that lingered behind them. "That's where the queen will want us."

With that he turned on his heal and let his feet carry him through the streets towards the Keep. On the way, he noticed some of the common folk peaking out from their homes and shops and he tried to give each of them reassuring smiles in and attempt to calm them. He knew it likely did nothing but he at least tried. He knew what it was like to be in their shoes and to feel utterly helpless against the games of the highborns.

The lords followed behind him like a solid wall of support which he appreciated. They didn't have to give him the loyalty that they had, he'd have understood if they had all told him to fuck off and treated him like an upstart bastard pledged to a queen they owed no loyalty to, but they'd given it anyway out of respect for the Baratheon name and were still supporting him even now. They'd followed him into battle and he'd never forget that.

When they reached the Keep, they had to push their way through the crowd of Lannister soldiers who had been brought there and were still guarded by men loyal to Daenerys. When he got to the front of the crowd, he noted that Drogon and Rhaegal were each perched on either side of the entranced into the castle while Unsullied soldiers stood guard below them, though neither Jon nor Dany were anywhere to be seen so he had to guess that they were inside already. 

He took a deep breath and began the trek up the steps and he noted the lords following behind them looking at the dragons wearily, having never seen both of them together in the same place, but they stayed behind him anyway. He admired their bravery. The Unsullied soldiers looked over them for a long moment and he thought at first that they might not let him pass but finally they stood to the side and allowed him to enter.

He'd never been inside the Red Keep, only having seen it from the outside during all the years he'd lived in it's shadow, and the resplendent interior came as a shock. He'd been inside Winterfell and Storm's End and neither had been decorated quiet so opulently. He wasn't even sure why you'd need actual gold accents on the walls and floor but he supposed that it made sense for a king to want to show off his wealth by making such a precious metal only decoration, as if to say _'See, I've got so much gold that I can_ _use it in my decor.'_. 

It seemed wasteful to him but it wasn't his castle so he wasn't going to complain about it. Once inside, he asked one of the guards where he could find Daenerys knowing that Jon was likely with her and Arya would likely be with him. He was directed toward the throne room and, upon reminding the guard that he'd never been here, was led through the halls until they came to a large set of wooden doors that were pushed open after a moment.

His eyes ran over the room, noting the people present, until his eyes finally settled on Arya standing next to her brother. He knew that it was improper not to greet the queen first when he entered the room but he couldn't bring himself to care in that moment and he knew that Dany would understand. Arya stepped away from Jon as their eyes locked and met him in the middle, where he threw his arms around her. She made a soft sound of pain, making him jerk back immediately to look her over and he finally noticed the makeshift sling.

"You're hurt." He said gently.

"I'll heal." She said, caressing his face with her free hand. 

He leaned down to press a soft kiss to her lips and felt Nymeria curl her body around both of them, rubbing her side along their bodies, and Arya pulled back with a soft laugh as she reached out to pet her.

"I missed you too, girl." She said.

He smiled at the sight of the two of them together until a slight movement to his side brought his attention once more to the Stormlords. He took Arya's hand and led her over to them, where she greeted Ser Davos in a friendly manner before turning her gaze to the others, the smile still on her face.

"My lords, may I present my wife, Lady Arya Stark." He said.

"She's your wife yet you still introduce her as a Stark?" Lord Estermont questioned.

"She'll always be a Stark." He replied immediately. "She is my wife but she will always be a wolf. I will not take that away from her because then she'd be someone else and I love her just as she is."

"I love you too." She said, turning her smile on him as it grew even larger. "Just as you are."

"May your marriage be blessed." Lord Tarth said, smiling at both of them.

"Thank you, my lord." Arya said.

Gendry was grateful for the sentiment from Lord Tarth but he knew that their marriage was already blessed, both by the babe she carried and by the fierce love that they shared. 

* * *

It was much later, after Arya had been looked over by a maester, thankfully only being badly bruised, and after many things had been discussed that you don't think of having to deal with after winning a war, such as dealing with the men who surrendered and beginning plans for a coronation, that they were finally able to escape to the chambers that had been designated for them and he fell onto the bed gratefully. He felt exhausted, both physically and mentally, and he felt as if he could sleep for a week.

Arya was standing by the window and looking out onto the city, a contemplative look on her face, and it made him sit up on his elbows to look at her.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked and she turned her head to look at him.

"I hate this city." She commented, sounding as if she didn't actually care about the words she was saying. "But I just realized that I'll likely have to spend a lot of time here in the future."

"How do you figure?" He asked. "After everything is settled in a couple of moons, we'll be on our way to Storm's End."

"Jon." She said, leaning her head against the window frame. "He'll be staying here when it's all over, he's going to be King Consort, and I'll have to stay here when I visit."

"Perhaps." He said, standing from the bed to move toward her. "But you won't be alone. You'll have your brother and you'll have me and we'll distract you enough that you won't get a moment to think about how much you hate it here."

"Promise?" She asked and he smiled.

"Promise." He said before leaning over to kiss her lightly before he pulled back with a grin. 

"What?" She asked, her voice cautious as she study his face.

"Since Jon's going to be King, does that mean I get to call you princess?" He asked and she punched him with her good hand as she rolled her eyes.

"You're so stupid." She said, a smile over taking her face and he laughed.

"You love me." He said as he pulled her in gently, making sure not to hurt her further.

"Aye, I do." She said, lifting on her toes for a deeper kiss. He indulged her for a moment before pulling away and giving her a look of warning.

"We can't do anything until you heal. I don't want to hurt you further." He said and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure we could figure something out." She said.

"Arya." He said in a warning tone and she pouted.

"Fine." She said. "I just missed you is all."

"I missed you too, love." He said. 

They were quiet for a moment as she turned back toward the window and he looked out as well. The city looked smaller from up here than he knew it to be and he came to the realization that he hated King's Landing almost as much as Arya seemed to. He'd been born here and spent much of his youth walking those streets but he felt no fondness or nostalgia for it at all. He had no love for the crowded dirty streets or even the Keep that he stood in at this very moment and it made him glad that he would get to leave this place soon and take Arya to Storm's End where they'd raise their family far from any of the bad memories that this place held for both of them.

After a long stretch of silence, Arya seemed to jerk upright all of a sudden and his eyes went to her in concern as she once again turned to him but she didn't seem to be in any sort of distress.

"You want to see something amazing?" She asked.

He just nodded, struck speechless at the glowing happiness on her face. She pulled the bottom of her tunic free from where it was tucked into her breeches and pulled it up to reveal her stomach before turning to the side. His eyes fell to her belly and he almost immediately noticed the slight curve that hadn't been there before. He reached out, awestruck by the evidence of their growing child, and allowed his hand to rest on the bump.

"Arya." He breathed out reverently.

"I noticed it right before I came into the city to get rid of Cersei." She said, her voice soft. "I remember wishing that I could share it with you and now I can."

"There's really a babe in there." He said and she smiled.

"Well, of course." She teased. "Did you have doubt?"

"No." He said, leaning his forehead to hers. "But now that I can see it, it feels more real."

"I understand." She said. "That's how I felt too."

"Gods, I love you." He said, kissing her again.

"I love you too." She giggled and he rubbed their noses together to make her laugh more until finally she shoved him away lightly. "Now, we should really get to bed. We have a long day tomorrow."

He nodded and helped her change into a night dress before stripping down himself and crawling into bed beside her. For the first time in weeks, he slept soundly with her in his arms. The war was finally over and they had the rest of their lives together. It was the best feeling he'd ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're winding down to the end of this story with only a couple of chapters left. Thanks for sticking with me and I hope you guys like it.


	21. Chapter 21

The next morning found them in a large room that Tyrion informed them had been where small council meetings had been held. It reminded her strongly of the war councils they'd had in Winterfell and on the road to King's Landing but today, they weren't discussing battle strategies or anything of the sort. The war was truly over and now they had to focus on other things like rebuilding the Kingdoms after years of warfare and allocating the limited resources they still had. There was a representative from all of the kingdoms aside from Dorne as they weren't sure who was in charge there now that the Martells had been wiped out but they set that aside as an issue to be dealt with later. Arya, for her part, stayed quiet until everyone had said their piece.

"Your grace, there's something we should discuss." She said when the table had finally fallen into silence.

"What is it, Lady Arya?" Daenerys asked. 

"We need to search the Keep and see if we can find a map of the tunnels under the city. There must be one somewhere." She said.

"That's a good idea." Tyrion put in. "We used the tunnels to infiltrate the city. It makes sense that someone else might use the same tactic and we need to make sure that we're properly guarded."

"That's not what I'm concerned with, at least not at the moment." Arya said, her eyes going back to meet Dany's.

"What was your concern then?" She asked and Arya let out a long breath.

"I overheard Cersei say something about the tunnels. She said that she'd found out that the Mad King had placed jars of wildfyre along each of the tunnels when he was on the throne." She explained, aware that she was talking about Daenerys' own father. "It was believed that he meant to blow up the entire city before he was killed and it's what she used to blow up the Great Sept. She seemed to be hoping that if she lost the war, you'd accidentally set the wildfyre off with the dragons. She said that even if you won, no one would follow you if you blew up an entire city."

"Is there any truth to that story?" Daenerys asked.

"I don't know for certain but if it is really down there, we need to find it and remove it so that there's no chance for us to accidentally set if off." She said seriously.

"It's down there." Jamie spoke up from his spot near the end of the table. "The story is true, he wanted to burn the city down with everyone inside. He didn't think he'd die like everyone else but rather that he'd be reborn from the ashes as a dragon."

"And how exactly do you know that?" Daenerys asked and Jaime looked at her.

"Near the end of Robert's Rebellion, he kept me very close to him because he didn't trust my father. He used me as a hostage almost." Jaime explained. "And near the end, he was truly mad. He would mutter his plans to himself as if the rest of us couldn't hear him. I knew his plans very well, they were the reason I killed him."

They stared at each other for a few tense moments and Arya could swear that everyone in the room held their breath as they waited for whatever would happen next until finally, Daenerys sighed and broke their eye contact to look at Tyrion.

"Very well." She said before addressing Tyrion. "You know the Red Keep better than the rest of us. Find a map, if one exists, and we'll send men into the tunnels to find and remove the wildfyre."

"Of course, your grace." Tyrion said, slipping from his seat to leave the room.

"Now, we've discussed many issues today and we have many more to discuss but I'm feeling a bit tired now so we'll reconvene tomorrow." She said, her voice dismissive and everyone started standing and making their way out of the room.

Dany turned from the table and moved over to the windows to look out and Arya motioned for Jon and Gendry to follow Davos out as she made her way over to stand next to the queen. There were still guards stationed throughout the room but she paid them no mind as she reached out and touched Dany's arm lightly to get the woman to look at her.

"Have you seen a maester yet?" She asked softly. "I'm sure Sam would look you over if you went to him."

"I haven't." Dany said with a sigh and Arya raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why?" Arya asked.

"I'm scared." Dany admitted in a rare moment of vulnerability.

"Of what?" She asked.

"What if I'm not? What if we're wrong?" She asked.

"I don't think we are. The direwolves are very intelligent and they can smell the difference in your body." She assured her. Dany looked at her with wide eyes.

"And what if I am? I had it set in my mind that I'd never be able to have children of my own and now.....now it's all changed." She said, her words coming quick. "And what if Jon is angry about it? I told him I couldn't have children. What if he thinks I lied?"

"Hey, that's not going to happen. I know my brother, he'll be surprised obviously but he won't be angry." Arya said, reaching out to squeeze her hands lightly. "He loves you, he's going to marry you, this......this will just make it more special, that's all."

"Are you sure?" She asked, the vulnerability in her voice and emotion swirling in her eyes reminding Arya starkly that Dany was only a few years older than her and still relatively young.

"I'm sure." Arya said, looking at her with a gentle expression. "And it's happening whether or not you go to a maester so you might as well just get it over with."

"You're right." Dany said with a sigh. "I'll go see Sam later and we'll see."

"Good." Arya said.

They spoke for a few minutes more about what had happened during the meeting with everyone, the biggest being Sansa conceding to having the North remain a part of the seven kingdoms, before separating. 

* * *

Arya found herself wondering the Keep in search of Gendry, Jon, Sansa, or really anyone she actually wanted to talk to but she didn't find any of them. Who she did find though, was Meera Reed. She was sitting on a low Wall near the training yard whittling an arrow with a small knife and Arya found herself approaching the girl. Meera glanced up as Arya came to a stop in front of her and they looked at each other for a moment before Arya cleared her throat.

"Are you going home soon?" She asked and Meera shrugged.

"Father was talking about leaving tomorrow. We're not really needed here, Lady Sansa will look after the northern interests in the peace talks and we've been away from home for some time." Meera answered and she nodded as she hopped up to sit next to her.

"You should go to Winterfell." She said and Meera's eyes flickered over to meet hers. "I'm not trying to push but I honestly believe that you grew to care for my brother while the two of you were Beyond the Wall together and now that he's mostly back to being himself, I think you'd be happy there, with him. It's entirely your choice of course but I think you should go."

"What if he doesn't want me there?" Meera asked, her voice guarded, but Arya could still hear the genuine worry and concern underneath it.

"You can only know if you go." Arya said. "We both know that whatever or whoever Bran was before wasn't really him but now he's back to himself, more or less, so it only makes sense to at least try. You don't have to listen to me but, in my opinion, it's better to go and find out than to choose not to and never know. It will eat at you for the rest of you life making you constantly wonder _'What if?'_ if you don't at least try."

"I suppose that makes a certain kind of sense." Meera said.

"Do you still love him?" Arya asked softly. Meera looked at her and her cheeks went pink.

"Yes." She said.

"Then you owe it to him and to yourself to go and see if the two of you can work it out." Arya said seriously. "It's scary but in the end, it might be worth it."

"Maybe." Meera said kind of absently. "Perhaps I will go to Winterfell then, just to see him. I doesn't have to be anything else."

"Right. It can just be a friendly visit." Arya agreed. 

"I'll speak to my father about it when we leave." Meera said finally and Arya smiled.

"Write to me in Storm's End when you get there." She said. "Even if you and Bran don't work it out, which I doubt, I'd still like for us to be friends."

"I will." Meera assured her.

"Good." Arya said, jumping down from the wall. "Now, I need to find my siblings or my husband as I seem to have lost all of them."

"I saw Sansa heading toward the gardens." Meera offered. "I don't know about the other two but that's where she's likely to be."

"Thanks." Arya said, straightening her tunic. "I'll go find her."

She left Meera and made the journey back to the main part of the Keep where she followed her memory to the gardens. There weren't many people around which made sense to her as many of the nobles that were present at the court right now were caught up in trade negotiations and forming new alliances now that the fighting had ended so they wouldn't have reason to come to the gardens at all. It also made sense that her sister would come here as it would give her a place to go to be away from everyone else when she needed a moment to decompress.

The first person she saw wasn't her sister but rather Brienne which told her that she was in the right place. Brienne nodded at her when she noticed her walking closer and Arya returned to gesture as she passed by her. Sansa was sitting on a bench that looked out onto the sea and was surrounded by flowers, her hair shining brightly in the sun, and she glanced over as Arya moved to sit on the bench next to her.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked, her fingers trailing over the sweet smelling flowers around them.

"Nothing in particular." Sansa said, her hands folded elegantly in her lap. "Just letting my mind take a break from all of the politics we dealt with today."

"Really?" Arya grinned, taking the opportunity to tease her sister. "So you're not thinking about a certain handsome knight?"

"Arya!" Sansa exclaimed, her eyes darting to Brienne who hadn't seemed to have heard her words.

"What?" Arya said, her grin softening to a smile. "No, but seriously, he's a good guy."

She was two for three in meddling with her siblings love lives today so she figured that it couldn't hurt to go for a perfect score. Sansa looked at her before sighing and looking down at her hands.

"I don't know if the northern lords would like our relationship." Sansa said softly. "He's a southern lord from a small House. They might disagree with a marriage between us."

"Fuck them." Arya said.

"Arya!" Her name that time was laced with surprise and Arya sighed as she turned to look at Sansa seriously.

"Look, I don't mean that in a bad way. The northern lords stood by our house and our family when you were fighting against the Boltons and during the Long Night, they're loyal and steadfast, and you shouldn't disregard that but when it comes to your happiness you can't take them into account. You've been married twice before, neither marriage being your choice, you deserve the right to chose your own this time around regardless of anyone's opinion and I know you care for him. The two of you would be happy together and, as I've said before, since he is from a smaller house if you did chose to marry he could take your name instead and further the Stark line."

"You really think that marrying him is the best decision?" Sansa asked and Arya met her eyes.

"Do you want to marry him?" She asked. It was the most important question after all. Sansa chewed her lip in a way that was reminiscent of Arya herself before she blew out a long breath and nodded.

"I do." She said.

"Then yes, I think it's the best decision." Arya said and Sansa looked up at her once more.

"He hasn't asked me." She said in a quiet voice and Arya rolled her eyes.

"Ask him then." She said and Sansa shook her head.

"I can't do that!" She exclaimed and Arya raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because that's just not how it's done." She said and Arya shrugged.

"So what?" She said. "Who cares how it's done? You can change things if this is really what you want. He probably hasn't asked because he's scared or because he thinks that it's something that would never happen. Like you said, he's a minor lord, he probably just thinks you're using him for what you want and you'll change your mind later and marry someone more ' _worthy_ '."

"You really think he believes that?" Sansa asked.

"It's likely." Arya shrugged. "Gendry only asked me to marry him when he became a lord because he thought that it made him worthy of me. He truly believed that he wasn't just because he didn't have a title. Pod could feel similarly even though he does technically have a title. You never know until you ask and if this is something that you want, you have to just go for it."

"Just like that?" Sansa asked and Arya nodded.

"Just like that." She said. 

Sansa went quiet as her eyes went back to the sea but Arya could see her thoughts swirling in her eyes and decided to leave her alone to think over their conversation. She truly hoped that her conversations with each of them lead them in the direction she wanted. She just wanted her siblings to be as happy as she was with Gendry after they'd all had to endure so much loss and pain throughout the years. She knew that a relationship wouldn't fix everything but it would make it easier on those hard days when the memories crept in and you just wanted someone to hold you and tell you that everything was alright. She just wanted to best for her siblings and she hoped that they all got everything they deserved.

* * *

After speaking to her sister, the rest of her day had consisted of wondering around the Keep as she really didn't have anything to do until finally she just decided to go back to her chambers because she felt tired. She wasn't usually one for midday naps but she figured that the pregnancy had something to do with her tiredness so she didn't mind so much.

When she woke up sometime later, it was to find Gendry slipping into the room and he winced slightly when he looked over and realized that she was awake. He came over and pushed her hair back from her face.

"Sorry." He said softly. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay." She said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she moved to sit up. It was then that she noticed the room was shrouded in darkness, the only light coming from the fire in the hearth and the candles throughout the room. "Where have you been all day?"

"I went down into the city with Davos." He said. "I wanted to check on the common people, make sure they were okay, hear their grievances, that kind of thing. I also went to visit the blacksmith shop I trained at. Tobho Mott still works there."

"He does?" She asked in surprise and he nodded.

"I avoided that part of the street when I came back to work until Davos came to get me just in case someone recognized me so I didn't know until now." He said and she leaned over to wrap an arm around him as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" She asked gently and he turned his head to press a kiss to her forehead, a small smile on his face.

"I'm alright." He said. "It was strange to go back and realize how far I've come since then. I even had a good conversation with him and he apologized for selling me to the Night's Watch all those years ago."

"He did?" She asked and Gendry hummed in agreement.

"I know now that he did it to protect me but back then, it hurt, even if I didn't let it show." He said. "It was nice to hear _someone_ apologize for treating me like crap."

"You never deserved it." She said quietly. "You're one of the best people I know."

"It's all behind us now." He said turning to pull her into him more fully. 

"I can't wait to leave this city and go to Storm's End." She said. "I think we'll be happier there."

"Me too." He agreed. "Soon, we'll go."

"Soon." She repeated.

It sounded like a promise.


	22. Chapter 22

In the weeks that followed the final end of the war, every lord and lady in the Seven Kingdoms traveled to King's Landing to swear fealty to Daenerys all while the royal wedding was being planned so the whole of the Red Keep was filled with people. While all of this was happening, men were walking the tunnels underneath the city and removing the wildfyre that had been placed there and transporting it all to an undisclosed location that only the most trusted people knew about until they could figure out how to dispose of it safely. 

Daenerys also used the opportunity of having every important lord and lady in the land, even Dorne's new Prince, in one place to propose a peace treaty to be signed by all of them. Everyone was tired of war and fighting so it was easy to get them all to agree. He and Arya attended all meetings that their presence was required but most of the time, they tended to avoid the big gatherings and feasts so they wouldn't be forced to constantly socialize. Arya was better at charming the other lords and ladies, which he suspected came from being raised in a castle, but he'd found that some of the lords and ladies appreciated his brash nature and sometimes brutally honest opinions. This applied mainly to the Stormlanders, the Northmen, and the Dornish, which he quickly came to understand was because many of them faced situations with the same attitude. He found it refreshing that not all of them were trying to social climb and get close to Dany and Jon.

He was grateful that the royal wedding was fast approaching because after it was over with, he and Arya could finally retreat to the Stormlands. He was happy for Jon and Dany, they were his friends and he was glad that they were happy with one another, but he was ready to be away from King's Landing and he could tell that Arya was too. Podrick and Sansa had gotten married in a much smaller ceremony a week before, with mainly northern lords in attendance along with her siblings and him and Dany, and everyone had been happy enough when it was announced that Podrick would be taking the Stark name. He'd even heard a few of the northern lords talking amongst themselves about being glad that the Stark line was continuing even if it was with some southern lord because the last time there wasn't a Stark in Winterfell, everything had gone to shit.

There was technically already a Stark in Winterfell in the form of Bran but he'd given up his title to his sister so if she'd married someone and took a different name then the next lord or lady of Winterfell wouldn't carry the Stark name which seemed to matter a great deal to many of them. He thought maybe it was slight superstition on their part, after all if Sansa had taken Pod's name instead their children would still technically be Starks, but he let them have it. He couldn't blame them for being slightly wary, they'd been the ones telling stories of the white walkers for centuries even after everyone else dismissed them as fairy tales and they'd been right so it only made sense that they'd have their own set of unique fears.

Podrick and Sansa were set to depart the capitol along with them after the royal wedding and would be staying in Storm's End until the baby was born. Sansa had exchanged a few ravens with Bran while they'd been on the road to King's Landing and after they'd successfully taken it and she seemed to believe that he was back to himself enough that she could trust him to look after Winterfell until she returned. All in all, everything was much more calm that it had been in years and everyone seemed to delight in that. It seemed that an era of peace was finally upon them again and he hoped that it lasted for a long time. If he never had to fight another day in his life, he'd be content.

"What are you thinking about?" Jon asked, stepping up next to him where he was leaned against the railing of a balcony just outside the throne room.

"Just processing the last few weeks." He answered.

"A lot has happened." Jon commented and he nodded.

"Aye." He agreed. "Anyway, are you ready for the wedding?"

"I think so." Jon said, leaning next to him. "It's a good political marriage and I love her, which is the most important part. If I'm being honest, I think I'll be happier when it's over and everyone can go back home and let us enjoy it together."

"All the lords and ladies groveling for your attention not what you want eh?" He asked and Jon rolled his eyes, the expression on his face making him look strikingly similar to Arya.

"No." He said, shaking his head. "I know that most of them only want in my good graces because they think it will gain them something and frankly, it's frustrating as all seven hells."

"You're going to be King Consort to Dany." He shrugged. "All of that attention and social climbing comes with the territory."

"Well, I hate it." Jon said. "But I suppose you're right. It's just something that I'm going to have to get used to."

"Are you going to miss Winterfell?" He asked curiously. "Now that you're going to be living here in King's Landing?"

"I will." Jon admitted. "But I love Dany and I'd rather be with her even if that means I have to live here. It's not as if I can't visit Winterfell, Sansa and Bran will be there after all, and Arya is going to be less than a fortnight's ride away so I can see her whenever. That's enough for me."

"We'd be happy to host you at Storm's End anytime." Gendry said, smiling at him.

"Good." Jon said, a grin crossing his face. "Because I'm almost sure I'll need somewhere to escape too after a few months dealing with all the sneaky politics that come with being a ruler."

"Thinking of running away already?" Arya asked, appearing in front of them from seemingly nowhere.

Gendry had gotten used to he near silent footsteps and tendency to just appear in places but it still managed to startle him sometimes. He and Jon exchanged wide-eyed gazes before his eyes settled on her face. She was looking at the two of them with a smirk and a raised brow.

"We were just discussing a potential visit to Storm's End in a few months." Jon said.

"Oh." She said. "I mean no offense Jon, because you know I love you, but I honestly can't wait to leave this city and go to Storm's End so I can't exactly blame you for already planning an escape."

"It would only be a small break. A fortnight at most." Jon said and her brow raised higher.

"I'm not judging." She said, shaking her head. "Anyway, Dany is looking for you in the great hall. Apparently some lord or another wants to discuss a potential alliance with the north and wants to speak to you specifically. I suspect he's going to try to make a match between his daughter and Bran as he's the last unattached Stark left but you can't agree."

"Why not?" Jon asked and Arya gave him a look.

"The rest of us have gotten to chose our marriages, it wouldn't be fair to force Bran into an arranged one after that." She said. "And besides, he already has a potential marriage prospect on her way to Winterfell who I'm almost certain he isn't going to reject."

"And who is that?" Jon asked. 

"Meera Reed." Arya answered immediately. "She's from a northern house who are staunch supporters of House Stark and have never once wavered. They went beyond the Wall together and spent years together where it was only the two of them and Hodor. I suspect they'll be married or at least betrothed soon and I think it's a good idea to have at least one of us marry a northerner to keep the bannermen happy. Figure out some other alliance if possible but do not trade our little brother for it."

"Alright." Jon said with a sigh. "I'll figure it out." 

He walked away from them back toward the Great Hall where he'd come from in the first place and Arya moved to take his spot, leaning back against the railing, as her hands cradled her belly. It was undeniable now that she was with child, her belly having grown enough that it couldn't be hidden under a loose tunic, and he loved being able to see the actual evidence of their growing babe.

Many of the Stormlands lords had offered their congratulations already and he could feel the air of complete happiness in them when they did. Davos explained to him that many of the lords had been worried about the future of House Baratheon, and even more worried about who would be instated as Lord Paramount in their stead, given that they'd all believed the House to be extinct after the deaths of Stannis and Renly, but the obvious growth of the Baratheon bloodline had reinstated their faith and loyalty.

The whole conversation, paired with what he'd overheard from the Northmen after Sansa's wedding, made Gendry realize that everyone was obsessed with heirs and rebuilding Houses now that the wars were over. It struck him as a bit strange but he thought maybe it was just a highborn thing to be so aware of bloodlines and he'd pushed it as far out of his mind as he could manage.

"You're hiding out here." Arya said after a stretch of silence between them.

"I'm not hiding." He protested. "Merely avoiding."

"Right." She said, her brow raising once more.

"Arry." He whined. "Everyone keeps introducing me to their daughters and cousins and every other member of their families, am I really expected to remember all of their names, I can't keep up. I'm a simple blacksmith, remember?"

"You're not stupid, you and I both know that even if I do call you stupid sometimes." She said, rolling her eyes. "Let's not pretend this has anything to do with your intelligence. You've always been surly and socially impaired, it has nothing with you being a blacksmith or a lord. You're just stubborn."

Her words sounded like she was annoyed but the slight smile and fondness on her face gave her away and made him grab her hips lightly to pull her into him.

"You're not really going to make me go back in there are you?" He asked, dropping his head to run his lips along her neck lightly. 

"Sansa and Dany will kill us if we don't come back." She said but she made no move to leave his embrace.

"They won't." He disagreed. "It would cause a political incident. I'm a Lord Paramount remember?"

"Aye, I remember." She said, pulling back slightly to look at him. "When you put it that way, I think it's worth the risk. Let's retire to our chambers, I have a few much more entertaining ideas of how we can spend our night."

"Mmm." He hummed lightly as he captured her lips with his. "I would love to hear your ideas."

* * *

The royal wedding was as beautiful and extravagant as was to be expected. Dany had looked radiant in her dress, which had been beautifully embroidered with small jewels that formed the shape of her house sigil and matched the maidencloak that she wore around her shoulders. She'd even had wolves interwoven with the dragons on her dress to represent Jon and the Starks. Jon, for his part, was dressed in clothing that followed a similar color pattern as Dany's dress with dragons and wolves interwoven. Gendry now knew that his clothing had been chosen with purpose to give a nod to his actual parentage while not looking out of place to anyone who didn't know. He was, after all, going to be King Consort so him absorbing the colors and sigils of Dany's house made sense to people without having to explain the thing they were all keeping secret.

It had been the first royal wedding to not be held in the Great Sept, which was easily explained by the fact that it was no longer standing, and instead had been performed with traditionally northern customs in the Godswood attached to the Red Keep. The heart tree here wasn't as grand as the one in Winterfell but it was still enough for the circumstances. Arya had lemented to him later that night that not a single Stark had been married in front of the Heart Tree in Winterfell that had played such a large role in her childhood and her memories of her father (excluding Sansa's marriage to Ramsey which they all agreed didn't really count) and he'd promised to take her to Winterfell and told her that they could redo their vows then. She'd called him stupid but he'd seen the happiness in her eyes that the thought brought to her and vowed to make it happen one day.

Finally, two days after the wedding they said a long goodbye to Dany and Jon and were on their way to Storm's End. It finally felt like it was truly over and their lives could begin now. An hour into the ride, Arya nudged her horse close to his and gained his attention easily.

"What happens now?" She asked and he looked at her in confusion. 

"What do you mean?" He asked. "We've already discussed this. We'll go to Storm's End and raise our family together."

"The seven kingdoms have been at war for so long it feels like it's all I know." She said, her voice small. "What if......what if I don't know how to live in times of peace? My entire life almost has been spent running and training. What if that's all I am? What if I can't be anything but a soldier?"

He wasn't sure where all of these insecurities were coming from, she'd seemed happy to come to Storm's End and start their life but he knew that they couldn't have just come from nowhere. It was likely that she'd been thinking them for a while but now that the life they'd been discussing in the abstract was within reach, she'd finally given voice to her worries.

He studied her as he worked out what to say to ease her fears and he noticed her hand cradling her belly as she chewed on her lip and he knew that she was asking all of this because she was really questioning whether she'd be a good mother.

"You're not just a soldier." He said, his voice low and serious. "You never have been. Life has handed you a shit deal and you've done what you had to to survive but that's not all you are. You're so much more than a soldier. You're a friend, a sister, a wife, a mother. You're kind and brave and strong. You're right, you've spent your life running and training, so have I, but we don't have to anymore. We'll figure out how to live in times of peace together, okay?"

"Together?" She said, the word coming out as a question.

"Together." He repeated firmly. "We're going to Storm's End and we're going to raise the most amazing child and we're going to _live_."

"No." She shook her head, seeming much more sure of herself than she was only a moment before, and reached out to grab his hand and squeeze. "We're going to live _happily_. Like the songs."

He got the feeling that she was trying to convince herself more than him but he squeezed back anyway. He knew it would probably take them months, or maybe even years, before they stopped waiting for the next disaster to hit but right then, in that moment, he felt that everything was going to be okay. They'd work through all of the trauma they'd been forced to endure together and they'd live happily, just like she said. The Gods owed them a peaceful life after everything.


	23. Chapter 23

Arya loved Storm's End. She hadn't thought that she would at first, and she didn't mind that because at least she'd have Gendry, but it had grown on her rather quickly. The people were as temperamental as their weather and she found that refreshing, It kind of reminded her of the northerners which she liked a lot. In the months since the war ended and they'd come to Storm's End, she'd begun to think of the castle as home. It was untouched by bad memories for wither her or Gendry which in some ways made it easier to live there.

There were still nights when Gendry would wake up in a cold sweat from bad dreams or memories and days where she'd retreat into herself and disappear into the library or to the battlements on top of the castle to be alone but during those times, they were there for each other. She would hold him in her arms and shush him lightly until he fell back asleep and he would give her the space that she needed but they always made a point to talk about it together as soon as they were able. In doing this, it strengthened their already strong relationship even more.

The smallfolk were happy and even the lords and ladies of the Stormlands were content with the stability that had been brought to them by their new lord and, in fact, the whole of the Seven Kingdoms seemed to finally be stabalising which everyone was relieved about. Trade had opened back up now that people could transport things without worrying about being attacked or raided and the economy was making a slow but steady comeback as the realm once again slipped into peace which gave them more time in their day to not be dealing with finances and things of that nature.

Gendry still spent most days in the library when his other duties were done for the day learning his letters and numbers. He'd gotten quite good at reading and writing but the numbers seemed to keep eluding him but she assured him that he didn't need to worry to much about it, after all she'd always been quite skilled at her numbers. Arya, for her part, spent her days in the training yard. The stormland knights had been hesitant to spar with her at first, especially considering that she was visibly pregnant, but she'd proved herself to them quickly. Now though, since she was so close to her birth, she'd taken a step back. She still practiced but only the movements she'd been taught as a child, no sparring.

The re-established peace though, meant that it gave the new Queen and her King Consort the chance to leave the capitol for the first time since they'd taken it to visit the Stormlands. As a result of this, that particular day she wasn't in the training yard but rather was taking a walk along the cliffs with Sansa and Dany. Gendry and Jon had disappeared somewhere in the castle with Podrick but she was almost certain that they couldn't get into too much trouble on their own so she didn't worry about it too much. Dany was sporting her own rounded belly and Sansa was looking at the wistfully.

Arya knew that she and Pod had decided not to chance her falling pregnant while they were in the south as Sansa was adamant that their first child, the future heir to Winterfell, actually be born at Winterfell. Sansa had been drinking moontea the entire time she'd been at Storm's End as a result but Arya could see how much her sister yearned for a child of her own.

"You know, you could get pregnant now." Arya said. "My babe will be born soon and you're planning to leave soon after. You'd be in Winterfell by the time your own babe was born."

"The trip to Winterfell will still take almost two moons." Sansa said. "And we may be delayed somehow on the road."

"You'll have a babe of your own soon enough." Dany said, her voice calming as she stared out at the sea. "It doesn't matter if it happens now or in a few moons. It _will_ happen." 

"You seem extremely calm and happy today." Arya observed, looking at her.

"I just woke up feeling happy." Dany responded, a small smile crossing her face. "It's a good day."

"I suppose it has been a rather nice day." Sansa agreed.

"There's a storm coming." Arya said, glancing out onto the horizon where Dany's eyes seemed to be fixed.

"Aye. There is." Dany said, before turning her head to look at her. "It is really quite beautiful here."

"I think so." Arya agreed before shaking her head. "Come on, we should get inside. The storm doesn't look close but they've been known to move in very quickly here and we don't want to be caught outside when it gets here. Believe me."

They nodded and the three of them turned away from the cliffs to make their way back toward the castle. As they passed through the courtyard, Arya saw men moving around and tying things down to prepare for the incoming storm, something she'd seen done many times by this point. It always surprised her how quick and efficient they were when preparing.

When they finally made it inside, they were pointed in the direction of the Round Hall when asking where their husbands had gotten to but Arya begged off joining them as she was feeling strangely tired from their walk. She supposed it made sense, she'd grown very large by this point and Maester Jurne seemed to suspect she'd give birth any minute so walking as much as she had that day was sure to wear her out. Just as she was about to separate from Dany and Sansa, she heard the first rumble of thunder across the sky outside and knew she'd been right about the storm moving in quickly.

"I was born during a storm." Dany said absently, glancing at the ceiling as if she could see through it. "It was said to be the worst storm in living memory. Being here does make me wonder what it must have been like to witness such a thing."

"People probably thought the world was ending." Sansa said.

"Perhaps." Dany commented before looking up again. "I don't think I've ever actually witnessed a true storm before."

"It's beautiful and terrifying all at once." Arya said before shrugging. "But after the first few times, you get used to it. Still beautiful and terrifying but in an almost mundane way."

"Hmm." Dany said. "Perhaps I'll drag Jon from the hall to our chambers so we can watch it together from out windows. A safe distance away."

"Solid plan." Arya said, before finally turning to the stairs that would lead to her chambers. "Let Gendry know where I've gone before you do, please."

"I will." Dany said. "Don't worry."

* * *

Arya woke to a darkened room with Gendry's arm around her and soft puffs of breath leaving his lips. She didn't know when he'd come to bed and it surprised her that she hadn't woken when he had. She was usually quick to wake at any noise or movement in the room around her as a result of her training but maybe her subconscious knew that she could trust Gendry so it didn't wake her fully.

She laid in bed with the hope of slipping back into sleep but after about half an hour she figured that it wasn't going to happen. The fire was burning low in the hearth so she slipped out of bed slowly, trying not to wake Gendry in the process, and moved across the room to add a few small logs to the fire before poking the hot coals for a minute until it caught up again.

She started pacing the room quietly, lighting a few candles to illuminate the space slightly but not enough that it would wake Gendry, while her hand ran over her belly lightly. She was uncomfortable and her lower back was aching making her wish that she'd stayed asleep but there was nothing to be done for it now so she decided to look over the request that had been sent from stormlords over the course of the last week that had been left on the desk in the corner of the room just for something to do.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there looking through the letters but the pain in her lower back grew worse over the course of that time and even moved around to the front of her belly but she did her best to ignore it until a particularly strong pain hit her and she made a soft sound of pain. She rubbed her hand over her lower belly where the pain had come from and after a moment her eyes widened.

She was on her feet immediately and she made her way over to the bed once more to shake Gendry's shoulder. His eyes snapped open quickly and his hand shot out to grab hers before his eyes finally focused and he realized it was just her. He realeased her hand, bring it to his lips for a soft kiss that she knew was meant as an apology, before he pushed up until he was sitting.

"Arry, it's the middle of the night. Why are you awake?" He asked, looking her over. "Are you okay?"

"I think you should get Maester Jurne." She said, her hand going to her belly again as another pain hit her. Gendry stared at her for a moment as if he wasn't comprehending her words before he leapt out of bed and moved toward the door. "Gendry."

Her voice called him back and he spun to look at her.

"What? Do you need something?" He asked, coming back to her side. "Are you in pain?"

"I'm okay." She said before looking at him pointedly. "I just thought that you might want to put some clothing on before leaving the room. I'm sure the people of Storm's End don't need to see their lord as bare as his nameday."

"Oh." Gendry said, his cheeks flushing as he glanced down. "Right."

He quickly slipped on a pair of breeches and a tunic before going to the door once more.

"Don't worry, I'll be right back." He said before slipping out.

Arya sat on the edge of the bed as she focused her breathing and tried to calm down. The idea of giving birth and becoming a mother was one that she'd had time to adjust to but now that it seemed to be imminent, it was slightly daunting. She wasn't sure she was ready for her babe to be outside of her body where she would have no control over what happened and the whole thing was scary.

After another pain hit her, she stood from the bed and began pacing once more in the hope that it would help with the pain until Gendry came back in with Maester Jurne behind him. She was then led back to the bed that she'd just vacated and Maester Jurne examined her as Gendry moved around the room lighting more candles to illuminate the space around them.

"Well, it seems that you were correct, my lady." Maester Jurne said. "I believe the babe will be born within the next few hours."

"Really." Gendry breathed out, seeming stunned. "It's time?" 

"It is, my lord." Maester Jurne said, looking over at him. "Soon the Stormlands shall have an heir again."

Maester Jurne left the room not long after, informing them that he had to get a few things ready before the birth, and Arya went back to her pacing. Gendry watched her for a while, his nerves palpable, until she moved over to stand near the hearth beside him.

"It's alright." She said, wrapping her arms around him and placing her head against his chest. He held her to him tightly.

"Women die giving birth everyday." He said. "I don't want to lose you."

It was a fear he'd begun to express as she grew closer to giving birth and Maester Jurne had made comments about Baratheon babes tending to be larger and she'd never been able to calm him because she'd been unsure what to say. Part of her was nervous about it as well, she would admit that, but now that birth was so close she knew that neither of them could focus on those fears. It would do them no good and they couldn't change the outcome either way so it was best to not even think about it so she took a deep breath and stepped back slightly to look up at him.

"I survived the Night King remember?" She said, her voice gentle. "I can handle this and after it's all over, we'll have our babe in our arms. That's what we need to focus on."

"Aye, it is." He said. She could still see the apprehension and fear lingering in his eyes but he made an obvious effort to push them away which she appreciated. "Anyway, we never did decide on a name."

"I suppose we haven't." She said, closing her eyes for a moment as the pain low in her belly came over her again. She just took deep even breaths until it passed before opening her eyes again. Gendry was looking at her in concern.

"You're hurting." He said softly and she brushed a hand over his cheek.

"I'm fine." She assured him. "It all just part of the process, I'll be okay. Let's talk about names."

"Do you want to name the babe after your father or brother if it's a boy?" He asked quietly, obviously still concerned about her pain but trying to do as she asked.

"I don't think so. I never really got the chance to truly absorb their deaths or to mourn them and I'm really processing it now that we have peace and I haven't been forced into running or hiding." She explained. "It still hurts to think about them or hear their names. I think if we named our child after one of them, it would make me sad and I don't want to feel sad every time I look at my child. I wouldn't name the child after my mother if it is a girl for the same reason."

"I suppose I understand that." Gendry said, shaking his head. "But then, what will we name the child?"

"I think maybe something with Baratheon history." She said, chewing her lip. "It'll be the first child born in the Baratheon line in years and will one day inherit Storm's End. I think it would be the best option, truly."

"I've learned in the last few moons that there are a lot of names in the Baratheon history." Gendry said. "How would we even begin to go about choosing one? Should we go all the way back to the beginning or skip to recent history or what?"

"I don't know." She admitted before joking. "Perhaps we should have the book detailing the Baratheon family since the beginning. I'm sure we'd find at least one name that we liked."

"I know you're japing but it's actually not a bad idea." Gendry said and she smiled.

"Maybe not." She said. "But we'll worry about it later. They don't need a name straight away, we can take our time to pick one after they're born."

"Aye, we can." He said, leaning over to place a kiss to her forehead.

She knew the night would be long and probably painful but in that moment she just took the time to lean into him and let herself feel calmed by his steady presence. No matter what, she knew he would be there.

* * *

As the hours rolled by, the pain became worse and closer together and Sansa joined them in the room. Dany popped in and out bringing updates to Jon, Podrick, and Ser Davos who had been awoken by the news. Maester Jurne was no a semi-permanent fixture in the room, checking on her every few minutes, but he'd been mostly quiet since he'd tried to send Gendry out of the chamber and had been met with anger and a tone the brokered no argument when Gendry informed him that he'd be staying with a lot of colorful words thrown in.

As the pain ratcheted up and she could keep the grunts and curse words from leaving her lips, he stayed by her side with his hand in hers while he wiped the sweat from her brow with a cloth. Finally, after what felt like forever, Maester Jurne checked her one last time and informed them that it was time for the babe to be born. Arya clutched at Gendry and he moved closer to place a kiss to her temple.

"You can do this." He said softly. "I'm right here."

Sansa and Dany were both on the other side of the bed and Sansa grabbed her other hand while Dany rubbed her shoulder in a calming gesture. When another pain hit her, Maester Jurne told her to start bearing down which she did quickly. She quickly got lost in the process, the pauses between pushing giving her the opportunity to breath for a few moments before getting back into it, and suddenly she felt a burst of lighting sharp pain followed quickly by a release.

Maester Jurne caught the babe as it slipped out in a rush of watery fluid and blood. Arya was breathing heavily and was still in pain but a smile still crossed her face as a long cry echoed through the room. Gendry turned her face to him and kissed her before leaning their foreheads together until Maester Jurne finished what he had to do and reached the babe out to them wrapped in a blanket. There was still blood in the obviously dark hair in the babe's head but she was almost sure she'd never seen something so beautiful in her life.

"A healthy boy, my lord." Maester Jurne said, smiling at them. "I offer my congratulations."

"Oh, he's beautiful." Sansa said as Gendry handed him over to her. She cradled him to her chest and ran a finger over the soft skin of his cheek.

"Have you ever seen anything so perfect?" She asked, looking up at Gendry.

"No." He breathed out, his eyes staying on the babe. "Nothing."

"I'll go inform the others." Dany said, getting to her feet with a smile. "Congratulations."

Arya was so focused on her babe that she almost didn't notice the pain continuing low in her belly and in fact it took until a second wave of pain hit her before she noted it. Her brow furrowed and she blinked a few times before handing the babe back to Gendry so she could run her hand over the spot and she knew that he could tell immediately that something was wrong.

"Arry?" He asked, a note in his voice that she was almost certain only she picked up on indicating that he was feeling scared. He thought something was wrong and she couldn't reassure him because she was still in pain. Something must be wrong.

"Maester Jurne." She said. He look up at her from where he was still sitting at the bottom of the bed. "Something hurts."

Sansa clutched at her hand with wide eyes while Maester Jurne moved closer again, his brow furrowed, and she felt him touch her as his other hand went to her belly. He pressed against her belly lightly while his other hand did something she couldn't see and she made a small sound of pain. His eyes widened as he looked back up at her and her heart started racing in fear. Something _was_ wrong. 

"What's happening?" Gendry demanded, all but shoving their babe into a surprised Sansa's arms so that he could have his hands free as he pressed himself to her side.

"It's alright." Maester Jurne said, his voice attempting a calm tone. "Just unexpected."

"Unexpected?" She asked, her breath coming in quick inhales. "What does that mean?"

"There's another babe." He said, and she felt Gendry freeze next to her while her breath stilled completely in her surprise. Even Sansa gasped in surprise.

"What?" She asked, not sure if she'd heard him correctly.

"There's another babe." Maester Jurne repeated, looking at them both in turn. "Twins."

"That's....." Gendry trailed off, shaking his head as if he'd forgotten what he was going to say in the first place.

"It's quite a shock, I understand that, but I'm going to need you to start pushing once more when the pain returns." Maester Jurne said. "Do you understand, my lady."

"Aye." She said, her voice still a little distant in her surprise before she took a few deep breaths and centered herself. She could do this.

Dany slipped back in just as she started pushing again and she distantly heard Sansa explain what was happening but she pushed it to the back of her mind. Her sole focus in that moment was to bring her second babe into the world. Gendry murmured encouragement into her hair as he held her and she kept her hand locked in his as she pushed. The second round of pushing seemed to be taking longer and she felt herself begin to grow worried before the window on the other side of the room burst open, surprising them all.

The sky outside was still black, which she hadn't been expecting as she'd thought it surely had to be morning already, and the sound of heavy rainfall reached her ears telling her that the storm was still raging outside. A strike of lightening flew across the sky with a loud boom of thunder following it, lighting up the room brightly for a moment and Dany moved as if she was going to close it.

"Don't." Arya said, her voice rough from overuse. "Leave it."

"Are you sure?" She asked and Arya nodded.

She started pushing again not long after, the flashes of lightening seeming to coincide with her moments of pain, and she refocused on birthing her child. Finally, after another half hour, her second child was brought into the world. Unlike the first babe, their was no sudden cry making her struggle to sit up to get a look while her grip on Gendry's hand tightened. She could see the same fear she felt reflected on his face before finally, a small cry came from the small wriggling babe. Maester Jurne wrapped their second child in a blanket similar to the first and once again handed the babe off to Gendry.

"A girl." Maester Jurne said. "A bit smaller than her brother but also healthy."

"Oh." Arya breathed out, reaching for the babe.

Gendry handed her over easily before taking their son back from Sansa and they looked down at their babies together. She'd been expecting one babe, not two, but it only took her a few moments of looking down at them to know that she wouldn't trade it for anything. It felt as if her heart grew two sizes to accomadate them in just minutes and she knew just by the look on his face that Gendry felt the same.

"I love you." He said softly, looking at her sincerely. "You're amazing, did you know that?"

She smiled and leaned over to kiss him. "I love you too."

* * *

Gendry and Arya ended up naming their children Durran and Cassana Baratheon honoring their heritage and birthplace. Everyone in Storm's End and throughout the Stormlands themselves celebrated their birth and sent small gifts for them. Ser Davos became an almost pseudo grandfather for them in the absence of one on either side of their family and his wife was happy to play grandmother as well, smothering them with love and, as they grew older, sneaking them sweets. They were happy growing up at Storm's End, allowed to grow and develop without the threat of war or fighting and enjoy a childhood that neither of their parents got to have. They grew up into strong independent people who were kind and concerned for the welfare of the smallfolk which was all their parents could have asked.

Gendry and Arya also had two more children in the years that followed. The first was born just a year after the twins, a boy who they named Benjen, and the second just two years after that, another boy named Brandon.

When Dany gave birth to a daughter a moon turn later, she and Jon named her Lyanna in honor of Jon's true mother. Princess Lyanna was beloved by the people, smallfolk and highborn alike. Her beauty and her kind and warm nature meant that she was in no shortage of suitors as she grew older but her parents were firm in saying that she would not be forced to marry someone she did not choose. She also prompted a change in the laws of the Seven Kingdoms, particularly the Inheritance Law, which was swiftly changed to state that the eldest _child_ of a family was to inherit the titles and lands not the eldest _son_. There was a bit of backlash on this at first but it eventually settled. 

Dany and Jon went on to have four more children. Two girls and two boys. Their second child was born almost two years after Lyanna, a boy the named Aemon, and just eleven moons later their third was born, another boy named Daemon. Their fourth child was born a year after that, a girl named Rhaella, and their fifth and final child didn't come until three years later. When she'd been born, unlike her siblings she'd gotten the Stark look so they named her Arya, which the first Arya had rolled her eyes at but she'd been touched all the same.

Sansa and Podrick only ended up having two children, both sons, named Eddard and Rickon. Eddard was the oldest born exactly two years after the war ended while Rickon had been born three years after his brother. There were no shortage of children in Winterfell though as Bran and Meera, both assuming that Bran couldn't have children, had actually ended up with six.

The first two were, like Arya's, a set of twins though there's had both been girls. They were named Catelyn and Lyarra. The other four had been boys named Jojen, Rickard, Jon, and Edrick. They'd all been born rather close together, with only a year between each birth, and the halls of Winterfell had been filled with children's laughter once more. 

Their family grew much in those years and they all made a point to keep in touch, visiting whenever they could which grew harder as they had children, and they kept each other held fondly in their hearts. Gendry did actually drag her out to stand before the weirwood tree and recommit themselves to one another in the eyes of the Old Gods during their first visit to Winterfell after the war and she'd felt a rush of affection and love for him in that moment that, looking back, probably resulted in their third child. She always found it quite amusing that three of their four children were conceived within the walls i=of her childhood home.

In the years that followed the end of the war, the realm knew peace like it never had before and that peace remained steady even after a new generation took their parents places, a mutual respect between all of them. 


End file.
